Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal: The Emperor's Regnant
by Gekkoryuukou
Summary: Tsukumo Ventus is the adoptive older brother of Tsukumo Yuma, who has lost his memories two years ago. When a being named Astral appears before the two siblings what new adventures await the two. Will Astral hold the key to Ven's lost memories. Pairing (OcXKotori) First story Constructive Criticism welcome, please no flames. Will use elements from anime and manga.
1. Chapter 1: I'm gonna bring it to 'em!

Hello everyone and welcome to my first ever fic on this site. this is my first time writing out a serious story so I'm sorry if characters appear OOC at times but I'll do my best to keep them in character. The updates will probably be slow about 1-2 weeks a Chapter depending on the time I can find, I also apologize if some things are misspelled as I have to beta it myself. so without further Ado enjoy The Emperor's Regnant.

**Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal: The Emperor's Regnant**

**(Opening Song - Hatsune Miku - Blooming the Idol)**

**Chapter 1: I'm gonna bring it to 'em!**

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP! I heard the loud shrill of my alarm clock as I'm torn out of my sleep with a jump, causing me to fall out of my bed and onto the floor.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch" I murmur to myself as I get up and fixed my bed. I look up at the entrance to the attic where Yuma Tsukumo slept while I took the bed of his real room hear my adoptive younger brother still asleep. I smirk a little and grab my first year heartland middle school uniform to go take a shower.

About 15 minutes later I get out of the shower and put on my Uniform and look into the mirror I have light teal eyes. I grab the hair dryer and begin to style my black and purple hair to my preferred style. (Think a hybrid of Neku from twewy and Roxas/Ventus from kingdom hearts) with a few of the purple bangs handing over my left eye. I walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen to grab some breakfast and saw Akari and Haru were already up.

"Morning", I say as a greeting, as I entered the kitchen.

Akari gives me a small wave before going back to her conversation with her news editor.

"Good morning Ventus". Haru says with a small smile and goes to put some food of my plate. "Make sure to eat it all".

I gave a nervous chuckle at that, Haru was serious about breakfast and could become very mean if you tried to skip it. Still she was a very kind soul despite that small quirk. Two years ago I had woken up in the streets with no memory to who I was. She had kindly taken me in and I could never repay her for that. I doubt that Ventus was even my real name, I just took it 'cause it meant wind in Latin and it felt appropriate to my situation, plus that name had felt familiar to me.

-Zexal-

After I had eaten, I went back into my room and grabbed my Dueling Deck that was with me when I woke up in this life as I call it, and put it into my book bag along with my duel disk and d-gazer. I looked up at Yuma's room to hear him still sleeping, I looked at my watch to see if he didn't wake up soon he would be late, but that wasn't my problem. I wasn't his alarm clock. I checked one last time to see if I had everything and Walked out of the house giving Akari and Haru a small hug goodbye before heading off to school for the day.

I had gotten a few feet from the house when I head a yell from behind.

"Oi Ven"! Yuma yelled angrily at me, "Why didn't you wake me up?" "We're going to be late!"

"No you're going to be late" I say with a smirk, "Besides I'm not your alarm clock."

Yuma sticks his tongue out at me and proceeds to duck and weave through all the litter bots cleaning the trash on the road.

"Yuma, Ven." A voice calls out to us.

I look at the source of the voice to see Takda Tetsuo skate up to us on his motor skateboard. I give him a small smile, "Morning Tetsuo". I've known him for a short while now, he's a bit on the heavy side but has a big heart.

"Morning Ven." Tetsuo says in response before turning to Yuma. "You ready for our daily challenge?" He asks Yuma.

"Don't think you can win against me easily." Yuma says with a grin as he swallows his rice ball and takes off running.

"Idiots." I murmur under my breath but let a small smile grace my face.

A bit later I catch up to see Yuma surrounded by Litterbots with his deck scattered on the floor, yelling at them that his deck is not trash. I let out a laugh when they start calling him talentless. I walked up to Yuma and helped him pick up his deck and handed it to him. "Here you go Toma." I say with a teasing smile.

"It's YUMA!" Yuma yells in response.

I ruffle his hair and give him a grin. "I know but to me you're Toma."

-Zexal-

Yuma and I arrived at our first class just in the nick of time.

"Whew, made it!" Yuma gasped out breathing hard.

I gave him a grin. "It's your fault for oversleeping." I tell him as I take my usual seat.

Yuma sticks his tongue out at me and I grab it with my thumb and forefinger

"Mephm Mi Mo!" Yuma Mumbles Inaudibly

I can hear perfectly well that he is telling me to let go but I decide to have some fun. "Sorry What?" I ask putting on a confused face.

Yuma Points at his tongue and yells inaudible.

"Good Morning Yuma, Ven." I hear a soft voice say.

I look over to see Kotori Mizuki. I let Yuma's tongue go and wiped the little saliva on my shirt.

"G-Good Morning Kotori Chan." I say stuttering a bit. I internally Curse my nervousness around her. I always felt like I would get lost in her Hazel eyes.

"Morning Ven." Kotori says with as she sits down. "Did you get your homework done?" She asks giving me a small smile.

I swear if this had been an anime, I would be bleeding out the nose right now. "Y-Yeah got it all done." I say with a small stutter, feeling my cheeks heat up.

"That's great" she says as Ukyo Sensei walks in to begin the class.

-Zexal—

Soon the time for gym class came and I was on the floor with my gym cloths on. Everyone was gathered around the 20 tall stack of blocks to watch Yuma's daily bring it to 'em challenge as he called it.

"There's no way you can jump 20 hurdles!" Tetsuo taunts at Yuma.

"I'll fly right over them!" Yuma says with a grin as he runs at the blocks and jumps yelling out. "I'm gonna Bring it to Em!"

I cover my mouth and snort as Yuma predictably crashes into the blocks knocking them all down.

Kotori goes up to Yuma and asking him, if he's okay.

"I brought it to em." Yuma says in a daze making most of us laugh.

I looked at the stack of blocks in thought. "Put 'em up again, I'll give it a shot." I tell them.

"Ehh, you're going to try it Ven?" Kotori asks me in surprise, because I would usually sit in the corner and due my own thing.

"Yup, today just feels different" I tell her with a small smile.

As the blocks get set up again I give a few short stretches, and crack my neck a bit. "Here I go." I say as I take off running at the blocks yelling out "Geronimo." I was up to the 10 Block before I starting going towards it about to crash into them.

I let my instincts take over and put my foot against the block stack and pushed off giving me a small boost to go even higher. Once I reached the peak I threw my hands down onto the top of the stack hurdling myself over, and let myself do a few midair summer saults before landing perfectly.

"Whoa, Ven that was AWSOME!" Yuma practically yells in my ear, causing me to flinch a little. "How did you do that?"

"A magician never reveals his secrets" I tell Yuma with a cheeky grin.

"Hey come join us." Yuma says as he pulls me towards the others.

"Alright" I say with a smile letting myself open up more to the world a bit more.

-Zexal-

I was sitting at the bottom of the school swimming pool in a slight meditative state when I heard someone dive in. I looked up to see Yuma swimming as fast as he could to the other side.

"I'm gonna bring it to 'em." Yuma begins to yell out under the water, but the action causes him to inhale a bunch of water.

"Idiot." I mentally Say as I push up from the floor and help Yuma to the surface and out of the water.

"Geeze you're such an Idiot." I hear Kotori say to Yuma as she helps me pull him out of the pool.

"Tell me about it." I say shaking my head in annoyance.

"You're Getting better Ven." Kotori says with a small smile. "You were down there for five minutes."

"Thanks Koto." I say giving her a small smile and calling her by the nick name I gave her.

"Your welcome Ven." she says with a small smile as she offers her hand to me to help me out.

"Thanks Kotori." I say with a smile, taking her hand so she can pull me out.

As she goes to pull me up. I give her a small grin and pull her into the water causing her to yell out in shock.

"Oi Ven, what was that for?" she asks me with a pout.

"Fun" I say with a small chuckle, "plus you're cute when you pout." I tell her causing a small blush on her face to appear.

I helped Kotori out of the water and handed her my towel. "Here you go I tell her." In an apologetic tone.

"Thanks Ven." She says as she takes it and dries off her hair.

"See you in the hall." I tell her as I take back the towel and go into the locker room to change.

-Zexal—

Yuma, Kotori and I were sitting in our next class, with our Duel disks on the table with their computer screen activated.

"Geeze Yuma, you really are an idiot." Kotori tells Yuma in a scorning tone.

"It's a challenge." Yuma tells her as he grips the Emperors key around his neck and explains to her that as long as he never gives up, he can accomplish anything.

"That's a memento right?" Kotori asks him

"Yeah." I say entering their conversation. "It was from his mother and father during one of their travels around the world."

"Yeah." Yuma says in response to both of us. "This key's gonna open the door to countless possibilities!" He says holding up the key.

"Does it really have that sort of ability?" Kotori asks Yuma with a slight look of awe.

"Nope." Yuma tells her bluntly causing her to anime drop onto the deck.

I chuckle at the scene. "That's not necessarily true Yuma." I say with a small grin. "After all, all of us are keys to the door of countless possibilities."

"Your right Ven." Kotori says with a smile.

"Even if this key doesn't open possibilities I always feel I can bring it to 'em as long as I have this key with me." Yuma tells the two of us, before jumping up and yelling out "I'm gonna bring it to 'em" loudly in the class making me hit my head on the deck and groan.

-Zexal—

I grinned in excitement as I ran out to head to the center court. If there was one thing Yuma and I had in common it was our love of dueling. I looked out to see a whole bunch of students already dueling. I grabbed my D-gazer from my pocket and activated it, it was a custom d-gazer the lens was black and the frame was a greyish silver. I put it on to see a monster destroy the school tower and come right at us. Yuma and Kotori duck slightly screaming. I just brush some AR dust off my shoulder from the monster.

I looked up at the field, being able to see all the Monsters on the field now and smiled. I grabbed Kotori's hand and pulled her along into the field to find an opponent to duel, leaving Yuma to his own designs.

I had managed to defeat several duelists in no time at all. "This Level of play is boring." I internally complain as Kotori walks up to me.

"Good job Ven, you're on a roll." She tells me.

"Thanks Kotori." I say deactivating my duel disk. It was a different make then normal it had a round screen and a deck slot that seemed to just barely hold the deck and the card zones were made of energy. (The xyz dimension duel disk from arc V) it was beside me and a deck box when I had woken up two years ago.

A short time later we met back up with Yuma. "How goes the victory streak." I ask with a taunting tone.

"I may have countless losses" Yuma replies as if it's nothing, "but if I keep Bringing it to 'em ill win for sure."

"Stubborn Toma." I murmur under my breath.

"Hey Yuma, Ven isn't that Tetsuo?" She says pointing up at the top of some stairs.

I look closer to see the, ahem pudgy form of our friend. "Yeah it is him." I tell her, "let's go watch his duel."

"Alright." Yuma and Kotori reply as we head up the stairs to get a closer view.

The three of us arrived to see Tetsuo in a pinch. "Hey Yuma Ven, Look at Tetsuo's Opponent". Kotori tells us.

I look over to see the infamous second year bully Kamishiro "Shark" Ryoga. I knew shark wasn't a bad soul just full of a sadness that he took out on others.

"Xyz Summon." Shark Declares. "When two monsters of the same level are on the field at the same time, I can use those monsters as materials to summon An Xyz Monster." Shark explains to Tetsuo

"I overlay the level three skull Kraken and Big Jaws!" Shark states as his monsters turn into lights and spiral up into the sky before crashing down into a red vortex onto the ground. "Xyz Summon! Come to me, **Submersible Carrier Aero Shark**!"

Two sharks connected together by some sort of armor type thing bursts out of the ground and lets out a cry.

"Xyz Summon?" I hear Kotori ask to no one in particular. Even though she watched my duels I never went into the xyz monsters in my deck to give my opponents a handicap.

"Yeah." Yuma says in reply to her question. "The strongest point of the Xyz summoning is."

"The monsters stick around as the soul of the Xyz monster called overlay units to help it activates its abilities." I say finishing Yuma's sentence.

Yuma gives me a small annoyed look before glancing back at Aero Shark with a smile. "I don't have any Xyz monsters myself, but there really awesome aren't they?" He asks the both of us.

"Yeah they are." I say nodding in agreement.

"Go Aero Shark, Direct attack." Shark yells out, making me remember the duel that was going on. I look over to see Tetsuo go flying into to the ground as his Life Points hit 0. An air horn sounded as the image of shark in the AR screen said Win, and the AR turned off.

"Tetsuo." Yuma says with a worried tone, as he and Kotori take off their D-Gazer's while I just push mine up to rest on my forehead.

I look at Shark as he walks up to the fallen Tetsuo. "As agreed I'll be taking this." Shark tells Tetsuo as he grabs his deck.

I feel anger surge through me as I clench my fist. A deck is a Duelist's soul, you don't take another's.

"What are you doing with Tetsuo's deck?" Yuma asks shark as the three of us go up to see if Tetsuo's alright.

"Who are you?" Shark asks Yuma. "Hey Ventus." He says to me in acknowledgment of my Presence.

I give Shark a nod in return.

"I'm Yuma Tsukumo. I'm this guy's class mate." Yuma replies before realizing what shark said. "Wait you know him Ven?" He asks looking at me.

"Yup." I say popping the P, getting a slight yell of surprise from Yuma, Kotori and Tetsuo.

Two kids walk up behind shark. I called them Spike and Cloud due to the looks on their hair, plus I didn't care to learn their real names.

"You obviously got now clue who it is you're talking to." Cloud states to Yuma.

"Oh I know." Yuma says, "He's the most notorious bully in the school."

I hit Yuma slightly at this, giving him a glare. "Don't call someone a bully."

"What, but it's true." Yuma says in protest.

I give Yuma a glare. Making him shut up about it.

"I'll give you that at least." Shark tells Yuma before holding up Tetsuo's deck. "But this is my legitimate reward."

"What?" Yuma asks in shock as I mentally frown at Shark's words. "Tetsuo what did you do?" I ask mentally, sparing a glance at him.

"In the duel just now, both of us bet our decks." Shark explains to Yuma.

I glared at Tetsuo for that.

"Why would you do that?" Yuma asks Tetsuo.

Tetsuo turns away. "These guys said I'm a poser duelist with no talent and I'd never get anywhere." He explains to Yuma.

"It was bait and you fell for it hook line and sinker." I mentally reply.

Yuma turns to look at shark. "Then I'm just gonna beat this guy in a duel and get your deck back."

"Yuma Don't." I say in a warning tone.

"Stupid!" Cloud says to Yuma. "Shark-san is so skilled that he's already participated in tournaments."

"He's no opponent you can defeat." Spike tells Yuma adding on the Cloud's ahem Brown Nosing.

"I know all that." Yuma says in response to them. "I also aim to be the Duel Champion!"

"Did you just say Duel Champion?" Shark asks Yuma with narrowed eyes. I can tell those words have an effect on him.

"Do you have any clue just how far one must go to be the duel champion?" Shark asks Yuma as he takes a few steps closer to Yuma.

"Well, I don't know." Yuma tells him.

"Then don't talk so casually about it!" Shark yells at Yuma.

I put my hand on Yuma's shoulder pushing him back slightly. "Oi Shark, No need to yell at him."

"Tchh." Shark grumbles under his breath.

"I-I can dream, Can't I?" Yuma stammers out.

"Dream, Huh?" Sharks says. I can see a small smile on his face as if Yuma's words are resonating with something deep within his soul. "If you want me to return this he says holding up the deck, you'll have to offer me whatever's most important to you in its place."

"What's most precious to me?" Yuma asks himself as he looks at the Emperor's Key?

Shark notices Yuma's stare and smirks, before yanking the key from him.

"What?" Yuma yells out as Cloud and Spike go to hold him. "What do you think you're doing?!" He asks Shark.

"Hmph." Shark says as he looks at the key. "This appears to have considerable importance to you."

I felt my fists clench in anger, I wanted to tell Shark to stop it but something deep within me told me that I had to let these events play out.

"Give it back." Yuma begs Reaching out his hand towards the Key.

"Shall I teach you the true meaning of Value?" He asks Yuma holding up the key. I could hear the sarcastic tone in his voice when he said value.

"Only when you lose something precious." Shark begins as he throws the key to the ground. My eyes Widen in shock as I realize what he's about to do. "Shark Don't!" I yell out.

"Do you realize its true worth." Shark yells out as he slams his foot into the key breaking it in two.

When the key breaks I feel a sharp pain go through my head. I bite my tongue to keep from yelling out.

Yuma falls to the ground looking at his key in shock. "How could you?!" He yells at shark.

I feel myself stumble a bit from the pain of the headache that is going away fast, but not fast enough.

"Your precious something has been shattered." Shark tells Yuma, "and now its ancient history" he states as he kicks the tip of the key off the observation deck into bushes below.

"A pity it is." Shark tells Yuma in a mocking tone, "but I can't return the deck to you now."

"That's Dirty Shark." Yuma Yells going to punch him but Tetsuo and I grab him, before he can do anything reckless.

"But I'll offer you a chance." Shark Tells Yuma. "Since you were prattling on about you being the future duel champion, I'll challenge you to a duel." "If you win, Ill return this." He says holding up Tetsuo's deck, "but if I win your deck is mine."

I growl internally at that as Yuma gasps out in shock at the terms.

"This Sunday." Shark tells Yuma. "At the plaza in from of the station. If you want this deck back be there."

-Zexal-

Yuma and I returned home after the school day, but he had fallen into a deep depression.

"Hey don't worry about it Yuma." I say trying to cheer him up.

"Yeah whatever." Yuma says in a hollow tone. "I'm going to bed." He tells me as he climbs the rope later to his room. I look at the clock on the wall to see it's only six. I lay down on the bed. "God Damn it Shark. Why did you have to go and do that?" I ask softly to no one as I look up towards Yuma's room.

During the next school day, everyone was jumping hurdles again but Yuma was sitting in the corner with me. Kotori came up to us.

"Hi Ven." Kotori says in greeting to me, before turning to Yuma. "Hey Yuma, are you gonna try for the 20 hurdle jump again?" She asks him.

Yuma clenches the shattered key in his hand and looks up at Kotori with sadness in his eyes. "Not today thanks" he tells her. I feel shock go through my body at those words.

I can tell Kotori is worried as well, as she says Yuma's name in a worried tone.

A while later I had walked out of the locker room, due to being a bit late to next class and I saw Yuma sitting on the side of the pool.

"Hey Yuma aren't you going to bring it to 'em?" A random kid in the pool asked him.

"Maybe some other time." Yuma says giving a dismissive wave with his hand. I felt annoyance bubble in my body at that.

I Jump in the water near him so my entry splashes water onto him.

I surface next to Kotori. She grins at me before she splashes Yuma herself

"Cheer up Yuma." I tell him. "Yeah don't be so down." Kotori tells him.

"I know." Yuma says "but, it's like I can't work up the strength to now that my keys been broken."

Kotori and I get out of the water and Sit beside Yuma.

"Are you sure it's the key that's broken and not you?" I ask him. I notice Tetsuo watching us out of the corner of my eye before walking away. "Maybe" Yuma says gripping the key shard.

-Zexal—

Yuma Kotori and I were walking home later that evening when we heard Tetsuo yell for Yuma, as he came up to us on his skateboard.

"Tetsuo!" Yuma says in slight shock, I notice that Tetsuo is covered in barely noticeable grass markings. I smiled internally. He really is a kind soul.

"Yuma, are you really planning on going to the duel tomorrow?" Tetsuo asks Him.

"I…I suppose." Yuma replies in an unsure tone.

"Don't Go." Tetsuo tells Yuma.

"Huh, why?" Yuma asks Tetsuo with a slight look of shock.

"You can't handle it." Tetsuo tells Yuma bluntly.

"You don't know that." Yuma says in a challenging tone. I smile as I can see the old Yuma slowly coming back.

"How can you beat shark when you couldn't even beat me?" Tetsuo yells at Yuma, before calming down. "Besides this is my fault, anyway I don't want to create anymore decks." He tells Yuma making my eyes widen slightly in shock.

"Your misunderstanding." Yuma says making Tetsuo look at Yuma. "I'm not going there for you." "Shark broke what's important to me right before my eyes." He says as he grips the Emperor's key pierce around his neck. "I can't just back out!" "My Mother or Father wouldn't back out" he declares, as he snaps out of his depressed funk. "I'm gonna fight him for me!" He tells Tetsuo.

"Good to have him back, right Kotori?" I ask her

"Yeah." She says with a smile.

"Do what you want," Tetsuo says with an annoyed growl. "Guess I'll give you this" he says reaching into his pocket and pulling out the missing key piece and tossing it to Yuma.

"You found it for me?" Yuma asks Tetsuo.

"I just stumbled upon it." Tetsuo says before skating away. I smiled. Tetsuo really is nothing but a big softy.

Later that night, Yuma and I were in his room working on his deck.

"This is the deck that dad Built." "If I can use it properly, I think it'll be pretty strong." Yuma tells himself.

"You're wrong Yuma, it's your deck not your fathers." I tell him gently.

"Your right Ven." Yuma says with a smile. "I'll use my deck tomorrow to defeat Shark for sure."

"That's the spirit." I say with a grin, "Now let's get some sleep you need to be well rested for tomorrow."

"Yeah" Yuma says as he goes to lay down in his hammock. "Night Ven." He says.

"Night, Toma" I say in a teasing tone before dropping down the hole in the floor to my room.

-Zexal-

The next morning I woke up to Yuma running out of the room in his casual outfit. I looked over at the clock to see it was already 9 and the duel was at 10. I quickly got up and put on my casual clothing. It consisted of a blue t-shirt with a white phoenix design on it. A black Denim jacket that was dangling on my shoulders, on my right wrist was a gold and silver checkered wrist band. Brown shorts, and a pair of dark brown/green hiking boots. I grabbed my black head phones from the table and hung them around my neck, and attached my deck box to my waist. I quickly went to the kitchen and got a small piece of toast to eat.

"Ready Yuma?" I ask, as I pull one of my lollipops out of my pocket and put it into my mouth sticking the wrapper back in my pocket.

"Yeah" he says with a nod as we both head out the door.

"We're heading out." Yuma and I tell Haru, who is sweeping the front yard

"Yuma." Haru says causing Yuma to stop short.

"What is it grandma?" Yuma asks.

"Here." Haru says as she tosses Yuma a wrapped up rice ball.

"What is this?" Yuma asks her.

"Duel Fuel." I tell him with a smile.

"Correct." Haru says to me with a smile before turning back to Yuma. "You won't be at your best on an empty stomach" she tells him kindly.

A short time later the two of us arrived at the station plaza to see Shark and his two flunkies there as well as Kotori and Tetsuo

"I'm surprised you actually showed up." Shark says to Yuma in a taunting tone. "But if you had run away with your tail between your legs, you could have at least saved your deck."

"I'd Rather quit being a duelist then run away." Yuma snaps, "Especially from jerks like you."

I look at Yuma to see slight signs of worry on his face. I put my hand on his shoulder. "Just smile and bring it to 'em" I tell him.

"Yeah." Yuma says with a smile. "I'm gonna bring it to 'em." he yells as he throws his duel disk into the sky. "Duel Disk Set!" He yells out as he activates his duel disk. "D-Gazer Set!" Yuma puts on his duel gazer. I put on mine as well as the AR materializes and I go over so stand by Kotori and Tetsuo.

"AR Vision-Link Established!" a computerized voice calls out.

"DUEL!" Yell Shark and Yuma

"Good luck Yuma." Kotori calls out to him.

**Shark: 4000 Yuma: 4000**

"I'll go first" Yuma declares. "It's my turn Draw." I see Yuma look at his hand before grabbing a card. "I summon **Zubaba Knight**!" As soon as Yuma puts the card on his duel disk a monster appears from the ground letting out a cry. (**Zubaba Knight Level 3 1600 Atk**.) "I can't attack since it's the first turn." He tells Shark in an over confident tone. "With this I end my turn."

"Idiot." I mutter under my breath. "You didn't protect your monster and your overconfidence will cost you."

"Humph, so your Card has 1600 Attack points, does it?" Shark asks Yuma in a taunting tone, "and that's your strongest?" "My Turn Draw!" He yells out as he draws his card from the deck. "I summon **Big Jaws"** Shark declares as a shark like monster appears from a torrent of water. (**Big Jaws. Level 3, 1800 Atk**)

"It's got 1800 Attack" Yuma yells out in shock at the new monster.

"Zubaba Knight has only 1600 Attack points." Shark tells Yuma, "While Big Jaws has 1800. Holding out a battle while in attack position results in the one with lower Attack Power being destroyed, and according to the rules you take damage equal to the difference."

"You had a monster stronger then Zubaba Knight in your hand?!" Yuma asks Shark in shock activating the AR Communication screen. Causing me to get frustrated again at his over confidence.

"You should have played a small fry that weak in defense mode." Shark tells Yuma. "Then Again," He says grabbing a card from his hand. "Even a assuming you played a monster more powerful, it would have been meaningless." He tells Yuma as he reveals his magic card.

"I activate the Magic Card, **Aqua Jet**!" Shark tells Yuma as he places the card in the Spell and Trap card Zone. "It Raises the Attack power of a Water-Attribute monster by 1000 Points until the End Phase of my Turn." His big jaws gains to turbine jet like things as its attack power goes up to 2800.

"There it is." I hear Spike yell out. "Sharks Magic Combo" Cloud says

"Battle!" Shark yells out. "Go Big Jaws. Big Mouth." He declares yelling out its attack name.

"Zubaba!" Yuma yells out as his Life Points drop by 1200. (**Yuma: 2800)**

"I set one card and End my Turn." Shark Tells Yuma as his set card materializes on the field.

"Darn it." Yuma Says. "You only managed to reduce my life by 1200 points!" "My Turn, Draw." He yells out.

"I Summon out **Gagaga Magician**." Yuma Declares Summoning out his Monster. (**Gagaga Magician, 1500 Attack, Level 4**) "I'm counting on you Gagaga Magician." He tells the monster.

"What?" Shark asks in confusion. "A Monster with 1500 Attack power in attack mode?" "What a Huge Miscalculation!" He tells Yuma.

"No you're wrong!" Yuma yells back at shark. "From my Hand I Equip Gagaga Magician with the Equip Spell **Wonder Wand**." "The Monster Equipped with Wonder wand gains 500 attack points." He explains as Gagaga Magician goes up to 2000 Attack power. "If you can power up using spell cards" he tells Shark. "I can power up using equip cards."

"Yes." I hear Kotori and Tetsuo Chant. "This means that its attack power, is greater than big jaws." Kotori calls out.

"Not a bad play." I comment. "He got Gagaga Magicians attack to over big jaws, but he's forgetting Shark's set."

"Go Gagaga Magician." Yuma yells out. "Attack Big Jaws."

"Yuma WAIT!" I yell out at him.

"Ventus is right." Shark Tells Yuma, way to completely disregard my set card. "Trap, Activate!"

"Trap Card?" Yuma yells out in shock.

**"Zeus' Breath"** says Shark declaring the name of his trap card. "When my opponent's monster attacks, this card negates their attack." He tells Yuma explaining the trap cards effect.

"Oh no, his attack was stopped." Kotori says.

"It gets worse." I tell her.

"What do you mean?" Kotori asks me.

"Shark has a Water Attribute Monster." I tell her.

"Ventus is correct." Shark says having overheard our conversation. "I can inflict 800 Points of Damage for every Water-attribute monster I have on the field." "My Big Jaws is Water Attribute, meaning you will take 800 points of damage." He tells Yuma, as a gust of wind blows Yuma back lowering his life point counter. (**Yuma: 2000**)

"Darn it." Yuma complains. "Oh that's Right" he says to himself before getting back up and grabbing a Card from his hand. "I set one Trap Card face-Down and end my turn!" He declared.

I literally face palm at that. "Idiot" I say. "You can set Magic or Trap Cards."

"He's Right Yuma." Tetsuo Says. "You shouldn't tell which one."

"Geeze" I hear Kotori Groan out. "Get Your Act Together" she yells at Yuma.

"What a Loser" Shark Says gaining back Yuma's attention. "My Turn Draw." He says Drawing for his turn.

"I summon **Skull Kraken"** Shark states as an Octopus Skull appears from the ground. (**Skull Kraken, Level 3 600 ATK**)

"It's got only 600 Attack Points, it's not stronger then Gagaga Magician." Yuma says confidently.

"Be careful Yuma." I tell him, "Low attack points usually mean a strong ability."

"Correct." Shark says in response to my comment. "I activate Skull Kraken's Effect!" He Declares. "When Skull Kraken is Summoned, I can destroy on Magic or Trap card on my opponent's field."

"What?!" Yuma Yells out in shock as his Wonder Wand is destroyed and Gagaga Magician goes back to 1500 Attack Power.

"Now Big Jaws is higher than Gagaga Magician." Shark Tells Yuma.

"Shoot, this is bad." I hear Tetsuo shout out, causing both Kotori and I to look at him with questioning looks. "Now Shark Has gathered two Monsters on the field with the same level." He explains to us. "This is the same as in my Duel."

"The Xyz Summon." I say nodding my head in acknowledgment.

"Yuma Just can't win." Tetsuo Complains.

I hit him slightly at this and glare at him. "Don't give up on Yuma until his life counter hits 0. You never know what could happen."

"Yuma." I hear Kotori say in worry. I put my hand on her shoulder, blushing slightly at the contact. "Don't worry. He'll be fine I tell her with a smile."

"Yeah." She says returning the smile.

"What's wrong?!" Shark asks Yuma in a taunting tone. "You seriously thought you could become Duel Champion with those clumsy skills?!"

I look over at Yuma to see him gripping the key, while his face shows that he is having an internal conflict.

Shark Sees what Yuma is doing. "It's all because you keep clinging to that thing that you can't win a duel." He says taunting Yuma.

"Say that again?!" Yuma says with slight anger in his voice.

"I just thought of something Nice." Shark says with a slight bit of insanity in his voice. "After I steal your deck from you, I'll shatter that key beyond repair right before your eyes."

"Shark." I say under my breath in a worried tone for my rival.

"You Bastard." Yuma Grits out grasping the key tightly.

"Because you're the king of guy who can't do a thing on his own!" Shark tells Yuma while laughing.

"Cut the Crap! I'm not like That." Yuma Snaps at Shark. "No matter how many times I fail." He begins to tell shark. "No matter how many times I'm laugh at." "I've always Brought it to 'em, and that hasn't changed!" "Because I am who I am and I believe in myself!" He yells out. "I haven't even come close to bringin it to you!" He yells out as he rips the key off his neck and it begins to glow brightly.

"What?!" I gasp out as the light covers the field. I shield my eyes from the light. When it dies down I find I'm inside a sphere of blank cards. "What is going on I ask."

"You, you will be the Protector and help the envoy of the Astral World." I hear a voice call out.

"What?" I ask as a pendant appears before me. "This is." I say looking at the pendant, it looked exactly like Yuma's emperors key but it was upside down. And instead of gold with the teal gem on top. It was silver with a red gem. I stare at it for a bit before taking it. "I don't know what's going on." I tell the voice, "but if someone needs my help I'll be there."

"Good Answer." I hear the voice say, detecting a smile in its voice as I snap back to reality.

I snap my eyes open to see Yuma sitting on the ground.

"What, what was that just now?" Yuma Questions to no one. "A Dream?"

I look at Yuma's hand to see the fixed Emperors Key. I look down to see the pendant I received around my neck. "So it wasn't a dream." I say to myself.

"What's going on?" I hear Yuma ask himself before we both hear shark gasp in slight pain.

"What in the?!" Shark says as I see a deep purple aura covering his body. "Power is swelling up inside me" he says as he yells out.

"Come, call to me." I hear a voice call out from within shark. "Numbers."

"What was that?!" I question mentally. Knowing the others couldn't hear it from their faces.

Shark yells out in a primal rage of power. "I overlay my level 3 big jaws and Skull Kraken." Shark yells out as his monsters turn into lights and fly up into the sky. The portal opens, and I gasp in shock as it's a galaxy portal and not a Red one. "I construct the Overlay Network using these two monsters!" He chants out. As the monsters fly into the network making a massive explosion.

"Come, **Numbers 17**!" Shark declares **Leviath Dragon. **A sealed form appears that looks like a giant pillar before it unlocks itself to form a giant snake like dragon with six wings. (**Numbers 17, Leviath Dragon, Rank 3 2000 Attack**)

"Numbers?!" Yuma yells out in shock.

"That's not the monster he called out when fighting me!" Tetsuo states in shock.

"Something in the universe has changed." I say looking at Leviath Dragon.

"What is it?" Kotori asks me. I shake my head. "Later" I tell her.

"I've never even heard of Numbers before." Tetsuo says.

"Makes sense." I tell him, "It's a recently released card archtype." Very recently released I mentally add slightly gripping the pendant I named the Regnant's symbol.

"I activate Leviath Dragon's effect." Shark declares to Yuma. "Once per turn, I can detach its Overlay Units," he tells Yuma as he pulls skull kraken from under his Number Monster, "and raise Leviath Dragon's attack power by 500 points!"

"What?!" Yuma yells out in shock at the effect.

"Go Leviath Dragon!" Shark states at the Number swallow the overlay unit and goes up to 2500 power. "Vice Stream!" He yells out as the number attacks unleashing a beam of energy from its mouth that destroys Gagaga Magician.

"Auugh." Yuma yells out as he is sent flying from the attack and crashes into the ground loosing 1000 life points. (**Yuma: 1000**)

"Yuma!" Kotori and I yell out in worry.

"This match appears to be over." Shark tells Yuma "It'll be decided in my next strike!"

"Ow!" I hear Yuma groan out. "Damn I guess I really can't."

"Stand!" I hear a voice call out. I look over to see a transparent blue figure with green markings and blue gems all over his body, floating next to Yuma. "How did I miss that?" I question under my breath, "and win." The sprit tells Yuma.

"Who the heck are you?!" Yuma asks the Sprit.

I look at the new comer with a feeling of familiarity as a single word passes through my lips, "Astral."

-Zexal-


	2. Chapter 2: My Name is Astral

**Chapter 2: My Name is Astral**

"Astral." I whisper under my breath, looking at the transparent newcomer.

"Let's Win." Astral tells Yuma. I can see that Yuma is in shock at seeing the spirit.

"Just who are you?!" Yuma Asks Astral.

"Astral." Astral replies in a somewhat monotone voice.

"A-Astral?" Yuma asks him in a confused stutter.

"If I remember correctly." Astral Replies

I frown a bit at that. "Is he like me?" I question to myself.

"What is this guy saying?" Yuma questions to himself.

"Yuma, What's Wrong?" Kotori asks him.

I look at her. "What do you mean?" I ask her.

"Why are you talking to yourself over there?" Tetsuo asks Yuma.

"You don't see this guy?" Yuma asks us pointing at Astral.

"Huh?" Kotori asks, as Yuma points toward Astral telling here that he's right there. I can see him pointing to astral but assume that it an empty spot to her.

"Is someone actually there?" Kotori asks.

"He's Right there." Yuma yells out Dancing around Astral. "Here! The strange looking guy!" "Standing next to me!"

"Do you think, this guy's lost his mind because he's scared?" Tetsuo asks us as Yuma continues to shout out "Look! It's here!"

I put my hand on Kotori's shoulder. "Yuma's not insane, I tell her under my breath. I can see him too."

"Huh? There's really someone there?" Kotori asks me, before suddenly gasping. "Who's that?" She says pointing at Astral.

"Wait you can see him?" Yuma asks. "See I told you I'm not lying." He yells in triumph, before remembering what Tetsuo said a bit ago. "I'm not afraid he yells at Tetsuo."

I see Astral looking over at Kotori and I. "It appears only certain people are able to perceive me." He states, before turning to Yuma "and it seems like you cannot comprehend my existence" he tells Yuma. I hear Kotori chuckle at the statement causing me to blush at the sound of her laughter.

"Don't tell me you're a Spirit." Yuma yells out pointing at Astral.

"Sprit?" Tetsuo questions being the only one unable to see Astral, but I wonder why Kotori can see him now when she clearly couldn't see him earlier. I noticed my hand was still on her shoulder and let go.

"Sorry Kotori." I tell her.

"It's fine Ven." Kotori tells me with a smile, before looking back towards the field. "Huh? Where did that spirit go? "

I frown. "Wait you can't see him anymore?" I question her.

"No." She says shaking her head.

"Hmm." I say as I mull something over in my head. I wonder, "Kotori can I grab your shoulder again?" I ask her.

"Huh, Why?" Kotori asks with a questioning face.

"I want to try something." I tell her honestly.

"Alright, I trust you." She tells me. I nod and grasp her shoulder gently.

"Hey, he's back." Kotori exclaims.

"Strange it appears when I touch you Kotori you can see him." I reach over and touch Tetsuo on his arm. "Can you see Astral?" I ask him.

"Nope!" Tetsuo says shaking his head.

"Weird" I say with a frown, "Does it only works on Kotori?" I mentally question myself.

"It seems that I somehow lost some of my memories." I hear Astral Tell Yuma. "I guess when I came to this world, there was some kind of impact while crossing through the gate, which scattered them."

"That's so sad." Kotori says before gasping. "Wait Ven that's just like you."

"Yeah." I say with a nod.

"You have lost your memories as well?" Astral questions me.

"Yeah." I say nodding at him before giving a wide smile, "but I don't let it get me down."

"AM-NE-SI-A?" I hear Yuma yell out at Astral stressing out each syllable "What's this about your memory and a gate?" He questions Astral.

"I'm done for" Yuma groans out falling to the ground. "I must've snapped." He says holding his head. "Why'd it have to happen during such an important Duel?"

I gently took my hand off Kotori's shoulder. "Yuma Focus I tell him."

"He's right." Astral tells Yuma. "You should calm down."

"This is all your fault you know!" Yuma snaps at astral.

"Do you think Yuma will be alright?" Kotori asks me.

"Yeah" I say nodding at her. "Just have faith in Toma." I say with a grin, making her giggle.

"I knew it" I hear Tetsuo complain. "It was just way to reckless to challenge shark like this."

"When did you become so feeble all of a sudden?" Kotori yells at Tetsuo.

"Koto's right" I tell Tetsuo. "Just relax and trust Yuma," I pause thinking of what I said, "even if his skills aren't that great. "

"Remember, that both your and Yuma's decks are both at stake in this duel." Kotori Reminds Tetsuo, causing him to turn away with a grunt.

"Don't Worry Kotori." I say kindly, "There's no way Yuma will let that happen."

"Yeah." She says with a confident air. "Pulls yourself together Yuma." She yells at him to get him back in focus.

"I am pulled together." Yuma yells back with a slightly snappy tone.

I notice that Yuma gazes at Astral. His face seems to be saying that he wonders why only he and I can see Astral.

I looked over at shark and noticed a darker atmosphere, it seems to have started when the numbers first appeared.

"Numbers." I say under my breath, something about the Archtype resonates in my soul.

"When this Number first appeared my body was overwhelmed with an endless power!" Shark explains to Yuma, "As I am for now, it feels like there's no way I can lose to anyone!" "I will take your deck." He yells out before grabbing a card. "I set one card and End my turn." Shark says ending his turn.

"Numbers." Astral says as if realizing something. "There should be some of my important memories sealed within." He states. "My instinct is telling me I need to win this Duel."

"Duel? You know how to duel?" Yuma asks astral in surprise.

"Indeed" Astral tells Yuma, "I am a Duelist."

"A Dueling Spirit?!" Yuma asks in shock.

"A Duelist Spirit?" I hear Tetsuo and Kotori ask in slight confusion.

I chuckle at that. "Don't worry, Yuma's just over complicating a simple matter I tell them."

"I am a Duelist!" Astral Declares, "It's My Turn."

"It's MY turn, darn it!" Yuma yells at Astral. "My Turn, Draw." He declares drawing a Card.

Astral Looks at Yuma's Hand. "I will Set **Gogogo Golem** in Defense Position" He States.

"Don't butt into my duel!" Yuma snaps at Astral, "I summon Gogogo Golem In attack mode" he states. (**Gogogo Golemn, Level 4, 1800 Attack**)

"Idiot Toma." I murmur under by breath. "You should have listened to Astral."

"It's got 1800 Attack Power" Astral Says stating the power of the newly summoned Golem, "but It won't be enough to beat his Monster."

"Of course I know that!" Yuma tells Astral." I activate the Magic Card, **Unprecedented Wind**, from my Hand." He says holding up a card. "Unprecedented Wind lets my choose one Monster in Attack mode and increase its power by 1000 points until my next turn." Yuma Explains as Gogogo golem goes up to 2800 attack.

"Yuma, Here's your chance." Kotori exclaims happily.

"It won't be that easy." I tell her, making her look at me with a questioning gaze. "Just watch I tell her."

"Go! Gogogo Golem." Yuma yells out. "Attack Leviath Dragon!"

"Tchh" Shark bites out as his life drops by 300 (**Shark:3700**)

"I did it!" Yuma yells out in happiness. "With this Leviath Dragon is destroyed, and I've reduced Shark's life for the first time." He says telling Astral in a confident voice.

"Yuma." I say interrupting him. "Look at the field again."

"He's right." Astral Tells Yuma, "Look Closely"

Yuma Looks back at the field to see Leviath Dragon still alive. "Huh?" He questions.

"His life was reduced, so why wasn't it destroyed?" Kotori asks throttling Tetsuo. "When they're both in attack mode, the one with the higher Attack power wins, Right?"

I chuckle a bit, before grasping her shoulder gently to calm her down. "It's the special ability of the Numbers Archtype."

"Hold on a Second!" Yuma says in an objecting tone. "Leviath Dragon should be destroyed!"

"Whoops." Shark says in a mocking tone I guess I forgot to mention this. "Numbers can only be defeated by other Numbers!" He explains.

"No way." Yuma exclaims in shock. "I don't have any of these Number things."

"Numbers can only be defeated by Numbers?" Tetsuo asks in shock. "What is Yuma supposed to do now?"

"So this is what you meant by the Archtypes special ability." Kotori says to me.

"Yeah." I say nodding to her, "but I know astral can help Yuma out of this pinch if he will listen to Astral's advice."

"I can care less about Numbers." Yuma tells shark. "Gogogo Golem's Attack power is still higher then Leviath Dragons." He exclaims

I sigh, and like that Yuma has forgotten Number 17's Ability.

"Next turn, Gogogo Golem will be destroyed." Astral states bluntly

"Huh?" Yuma Asks looking at astral.

"If he has a monster with 800 or higher Attack power in his hand, we stand no chance of winning this duel." Astral tells Yuma.

"My Life's still at 1000, you know." Yuma tells Astral. That was one of his problems, he didn't try to predict future events to play around his opponent.

"Observation #1: Your dueling tactics are nowhere good a mine." Astral states.

"Astral's got you there Yuma." I say with a laugh.

"What, What did he say?" Kotori asks Me, I whisper Astral's observation into her ear causing her to chuckle slightly.

"Not as good as yours?!" Yuma asks angrily getting up into Astral's face.

"What does "Tactics" mean, by the way?" Yuma asks Astral.

Yuma's causes me to anime fall at that comment. No wonder Yuma never wins a duel if he doesn't know that.

"It means Strategy." Astral tells Yuma blinking in surprise.

"Oh Strategy." Yuma says as if he gets it. "Strategy, what'd you say?!" He asks Astral.

"With this, the match is decided!" Shark says gaining back our attention. "My turn! Draw!" He declares as he draws for his turn. He looks at the card he drew, gritting his teeth in anger.

"Whew." I say in a breath. "Yuma's not out of this yet."

"I Summon **Drill Barnicle"** Shark says as his monster appears. (**Drill Barnicle, Level 3, 300 Attack**)

"300 Attack Points" Astral Says looking at the monster, "We've been saved." He tells Yuma.

"I mean it!" Yuma tells Astral. "What the heck are you talking about?!" He asks Astral.

"Yuma." I yell out, "The Numbers Effect" I tell him.

"I activate Leviath Dragon's effect!" Shark Declares "By removing an Overlay Unit, I can increase its Attack Power by 500!"

"3000 Attack Points?!" Yuma says in shock. "Are you serious?!"

"Leviath Dragon did have one Remaining Overlay Unit." Astral tells Yuma, "So it was almost certain that he would use that effect to boost its Attack Points."

"No Way!" Yuma Yells in Shock.

I rub my Temple feeling a slight headache from Yuma's stupid plays.

"Go, Leviath Dragon!" Shark yells out "Attack Gogogo Golem!" He yells out as his Number fires off Revice Stream destroying Gogogo Golem as Yumas life drops. **(Yuma: 800**)

"Now my life's at 800?!" Yuma states, before gasping in realization. I see him looking at Astral as if wondering how Astral can foresee things that far ahead.

"I still have an Attack remaining!" Shark Tells Yuma. "Drill Barnacle, Drill Attack!" He yells out at the monster slams into Yuma sending him flying.

"D-Darn it." Yuma groans out as his life drops by 300 **(Yuma:500**)

"Yuma", "Toma." Kotori and I say worried for our Friend and Little Brother respectively.

"When in Defense Mode, Gogogo Golem has an effect that prevents it from being destroyed in battle." Astral tells Yuma. "If you had listened to my advice we wouldn't be in this pinch."

"Astral." I say under my breath in worry as I notice his existence seems to be flickering.

"Shut Up!" Yuma yells at Astral.

"What is this?" Astral Questions. "My life is fading as well." He states causing my eyes to widen in shock. Astral closes his eyes as if thinking over something.

"Numbers." Astral says in realization.

"Huh?" Yuma asks walking up to Astral.

"I remember now." Astral Tells Yuma, "Numbers are the pieces of my memory!" "Numbers are special cards, even among the Xyz." He Explains to Yuma. "The Cards in this world are no match for them."

"I can't wait to face one." I mentally tell myself, "It sounds like it would be a great challenge."

"And," Astral says interrupting my inner thoughts. "When two Numbers Duel, the winner shall absorb the loser's Numbers."

"What does that mean?" Yuma questions Astral.

"If we fail to win this duel, then I will disappear from this world." Astral tells Yuma Bluntly.

"What?" I say gasping out in shock.

"What is it?" Kotori asks gently touching my shoulder.

"If Yuma loses this duel Astral will literally die." I explain to her. "He has to step up his game." I say looking back at the field, silently enjoying the feeling of Kotori's hand on my arm.

"I must win this duel at all costs." Astral tells Yuma.

"I planned to win from the beginning!" Yuma tells Astral in a tone that had a hind of annoyance, before looking at his hand to try and form a strategy.

Shark sees what Yuma is doing. "Thinking about it is useless." He tells Yuma. "I activate the effect of Drill Barnacle!" He declares, "When this card successfully inflicted battle damage to the opponent, its attack power goes up by 1000 Points." He tells Yuma as his monster grows in size and raises to 1300 attack power. "Additionally, Drill Barnacle is a monster that can attack the opponent directly." Shark tells Yuma. "Next turn, if its direct attack connects, it's all over for you!"

"Seriously?" Yuma asks in shock.

"If I'm hit with that thing, I'll lose." Yuma whines Complaining. "What should I do, what should I do?" He asks dancing around in worry.

I took the lollipop stick in my mouth out and threw it at Yuma. Hitting him. "Yuma calm down and think!" I tell him.

"Yeah." Yuma says, before gasping in realization. "The set Trap Card." He says. "Let see, what did I set, anyway?" He asks himself.

I face palm. "I swear I'm going to get brain damage from this." I say with a groan, before noticing a Flaming Orange glow on my hand. "That's." I mentally shout before pushing the matter to the back of my mind.

**"Bye Bye Damage**, Huh?" I hear Astral say. "If you had activated that card, not only will you have inflicted damage to your opponent, but Gogogo Golem will not have been destroyed." He tells Yuma.

"I forgot because you keep distracting me!" Yuma yells at Astral.

"It's high time for you to forfeit this Duel already!" Shark tells Yuma.

"There's no way I'll give up." Yuma declares to shark.

"Then, do you still think you have a chance to win?" Shark Questions Yuma.

"I won't give up." Yuma says in determination.

"I won't give up." Shark hisses. "That statement pisses me off so much." He says as I see the Numbers aura glow slightly.

"What should I do now?" Yuma asks himself.

"You still have a Chance." Astral tells Yuma, causing Yuma to look at Him.

"To do so, the necessary conditions are for you to assemble two Monsters on the field." Astral explains to Yuma.

"Two Monsters?" I mentally repeat, before gasping in realization. Astral must have a number of his own, I just hope they can bring it out. I may not know Astral personally but I feel a kindred spirit connection to him, and that makes me want to protect him.

"Listen carefully, Umm…" Astral pauses short realizing he doesn't know any of our Names.

"My Name's Yuma." Yuma tells Astral with a hint of anger.

"Then listen carefully, Toma" Astral says.

I bark out a laugh at that. "Hey Yuma, seems like I'm not the only one who calls you Toma."

"It's YUMA!" Yuma yells out in anger.

Astral looks over at me, "and you are?" He question.

I give him a small grin. "I'm Ventus, Ven if you like." I tell him.

"Ven." Astral says as if testing the word before turning his attention back to the Duel. "As for you next draw, draw a card which enables you to Special Summon a Monster." He tells Yuma.

"A card that allows me to Special Summon?" Yuma asks in Questioning.

"You have to draw that card no matter what." Astral Tells Yuma.

"Ahh Shut Up." Yuma whines slightly. "Mine and Tetsuo's decks are on the line in this duel." Yuma says as he yells out, "My turn! Draw!" Pulling the top card into his hand.

**"Monster Reborn."** Astral States looking at the drawn card. "It seems like fate has not abandoned me yet."

"I'm the one who drew it!" Yuma tells Astral. "I summon **Ganbara Knight** in Attack Mode." Yuma says in a slightly angry tone at Astral telling him what to do. (**Ganbara Knight, Level 4, 0 Attack**)

"YUMA!" I yell at him angrily. "Stop being selfish and fighting with Astral."

"But..." Yuma begins.

"No Buts!" I snap. "You both need to work together in this duel, you both have something important riding on it."

"Yuma, Why Did you play it in attack mode?" Tetsuo questions. "Ganbara Knight has 0 Attack Power."

"Ahhhh!" "Shoot!" Yuma Yells out, realizing what he had done.

"It's my win." Shark tells Yuma, "So just give up already."

"I don't plan to give up!" Yuma tells Shark. "I'll just bring it to 'em like always!"

"Bring it to 'em?" Astral Questions Yuma.

"Bring it to 'em means having the spirit to challenge and a heart that will never give up." Yuma explains to Astral. "A person's heart dies the moment they give up!"

"You talk too much!" Shark growls at Yuma. "I won't give up, I won't Give up Guys like you piss me off more than anyone!" He says in anger. "Besides, how do you plan to stand up to my Monsters with 0 Attack Points?" He questions.

"You've done enough." Astral tells Yuma "Had you set him in Defense Position, you would have lost any chances you had for a turn around Toma."

I chuckle at that. I have a feeling Astral and I are going to become good friends.

"It's Yuma!" Yuma yells at Astral.

"Use Monster Reborn to revive Gagaga Magician." Astral Tells Yuma.

"What?" Yuma Questions.

"I cannot allow myself to disappear from here." Astral tells Yuma. "Please Believe Me!" He begs.

"Yuma, please, listen to what Astral says please!" I beg him feeling a single tear slide out of my eye that I wipe off before anyone can notice.

"Fine." Yuma says. "It's not like I trust you or anything like that." He tells Astral.

"I activate Monster Reborn from my Hand." Yuma Declares. "I revive Gagaga Magician from the Graveyard!"

"What do you plan to do by bringing back a 1500 Attack Power monster?!" Shark asks Yuma.

"Two Level 4's" I say softly.

Kotori Gasps in realization, "Then that means?" She lets the question linger.

"Yeah" I say nodding in confirmation. "I just hope its effect is enough."

"With This the Conditions are met." Astral states

"What?" Yuma says looking at Astral in Confusion.

"Overlay Your Level Four Gagaga Magician and your Ganbara Knight." Astral Tells Yuma.

"This couldn't be, An Xyz Summon?!" Yuma asks Astral.

"Take a look at your Extra Deck." Astral Tells Yuma

Yuma's Extra Deck opens to reveal a Glowing Card which he grabs. "What is this Xyz Monster?" He Questions. "I can't read its text." He mutters to him self

I look over at Yuma's shoulder to look at the cards. I frown a bit. To me it's in perfect English. "**Numbers 39: Aspiring Emperor Hope"** I read out under my breath.

"So you can Read it as Well?" Astral questions having heard my murmurings. "Ventus is Correct Toma, its name is Number 39 Aspiring Emperor, Hope."

"Yuma!" Yuma snaps at Astral at being called Toma, before gasping in realization. "This is a Numbers?!" He yells out in shock.

"Correct." Astral tells Yuma. "That's the power I've entrusted to you."

"I'm gonna bring it to 'em!" Yuma yells out. "I overlay my Level Four Gagaga Magician and Ganbara Knight."

"That's the way Yuma." I say with a smile.

"I construct the Overlay Network using these two Monsters!" Yuma Chants. "Xyz Summon!"

"Come forth! Numbers 39! Aspiring Emperor, Hope!" Yuma and Astral Declare in Unison.

The Numbers Sealed Form appears out of the vortex in a flash of a Red 39 before unsealing into a white Warrior as it lets out a cry of HOPE. (**Numbers 39 Aspiring Emperor Hope, Rank 4, 2500 Attack**)

"Go! Aspiring Emperor Hope!" Yuma and Astral Declare. "Attack Drill Barnacle! Hope Sword Slash." They yell out as Hope Slashes the Octopus Monster in half. The Impact sending Shark to the Ground as his life drops. (**Shark: 2500**)

"Alright!" Yuma Cheers. "I dealt Shark Critical Damage."

"That's a Numbers?" Shark questions in shock.

"This is the only trump card which is capable of bringing down Leviath Dragon." Astral states to Yuma. "Aspiring Emperor Hope."

"Numbers again?!" Tetsuo asks in shock at the appearance of the new monster

"Aspiring Emperor Hope?" I hear Kotori question slightly to herself. She looks at me. "Did Yuma have that card before?"

I shake my head. "Astral gave it to him to help him out of this pinch."

I see. Kotori says with a nod before looking back to the duel.

"With this I end my turn." Yuma tells Shark.

I see Yuma has a look of giddiness on his face. "I just performed an Xyz summon for the first time in my life!" He announces dancing around in happiness. "Hey, hey, hey, hey!" "Did you see it?" He asks coming up to us dancing in happiness.

"We saw it already." Kotori tells him.

"This is the fruit of my Bringin it to 'em" Yuma says with a giddy look on his face.

I reach out and flick Yuma on the head causing him to fall out the ground.

"Ow, what was that for?" Yuma asks rubbing the spot I hit.

"Focus!" I tell him in a stern voice. "Hope only has 2500 Attack against Leviath's 3000."

"Shoot!" Yuma yells in shock having forgotten that.

"Even if you managed to summon a Numbers, you are still no match of me!" Shark tells Yuma. "My turn! Draw!" He yells out beginning his turn.

"I activate a Magic Card from my Hand, **Surfacing."** Shark Announces. "This card can Special Summon a Water-Attribute Monster from my Graveyard in Defense position!" He says explaining the cards effect. Reviving Big Jaws. "Next, by releasing Big Jaws." Shark says putting the summoned monster back into the graveyard, "I Advance Summon **Jawsman**." (**Jawsman, Level 6. 2600 Attack**)

"Advance Summon?" Kotori asks in slight confusion having never learned the deeper mechanics.

"It's a method that lets you Tribute a monster to bring out a monster with higher power." I explain. "The more powerful the monster the more tributes you must make."

"I see." Kotori says Nodding to me.

"This card gains 300 Attack Points for every Water-Attribute Monster I control on the field!" Shark says explaining his new monsters effect. "Leviath Dragon is of the Water attribute, thus, the Attack Power of Jawsman is 2900!" He says as his monsters attack goes up to 2900.

"Finish it!" Shark yells out declaring his attack against Hope. "First, Leviath Dragon will attack Hope!" He announces.

"Doesn't Hope have any Effect at all?!" Yuma asks Astral dancing around nervously

"Hopes Effect, by detaching one Overlay Unit, it can negate an attack." Astral tells Yuma nonchalantly.

"You should have told me that right away." Yuma Yells at Astral. "I activate Hope's effect!" "By detaching one Overlay Unit, Leviath Dragon's attack is negated!" He announces.

"Moon Barrier." Yuma and Astral yell out saying the name of Hopes ability.

"Is that Hope's effect?" Shark asks Yuma in a mocking tone, "But even if you negated my attack, you still can't defeat my Monsters and win!" He tells Yuma.

"Defeating his Monsters." Yuma murmurs to himself.

"You only have one Overlay Unit left to use!" Shark tells Yuma, "and although Numbers can't be destroyed unless by other Numbers, you still receive damage!" He tells Yuma. "To avoid that damage, feel free to detach that remaining Overlay Unit!" He tells Yuma tauntingly as he orders his Jawsman to Attack Hope.

"Do what he says, and use Hope's effect once again." Astral tells Yuma.

I look at Yuma to see a look of thought on his face. "A way to defeat his monsters." Yuma mutters to himself, before I see his eyes widen with an Idea.

"Alright, I Activate the Bye-Bye Damage Trap Card!" Yuma says activating his face down set card. "Thanks to Bye-Bye Damage, my Monster is not destroyed and is protected from battle!" Yuma Tells Shark explaining his trap's effect.

"Yuma." I mutter wondering what he's planning.

"Why aren't you using Hope's effect?" Astral asks Yuma in surprise.

"Because I am who I am." Yuma Replies as his life points fall by 400. (**Yuma:100**) "At the same time, when the player receives Battle Damage, the opponent receives twice of the battle damage I took." Yuma says explaining the second part of his cards effect as Sharks life drops by 800. (**Shark:1700**)

"Now Yuma only has 100 Life left." Kotori says in worry.

"It's alright Kotori." I tell her with a kind smile. "As long as Yuma has even 1 Life point he has a chance to win."

"Yeah." She tells me with a smile before were are interrupted by Shark laughing.

"Because you just activated a Trap, I can activate the Permanent Trap, **Urchin Bomb."** Shark Tells Yuma. "When my turn comes, I can inflict 1000 points of damage to you with this Trap!" "Now my Victory is as good as decided!" He tells Yuma.

"It's over." Tetsuo says in despair.

"Don't think like that." I tell him. "A single action can change the whole course of fate, just have faith."

"Yeah "Kotori says with a smile. "You can do it Yuma!" She yells out. "Focus Toma!" I yell in support as well.

"Yeah!" Yuma says ignoring my Toma comment.

"It's about time for you to give up!" Shark tells Yuma.

"Not yet, I won't give up!" Yuma tells Shark in protest.

"That's the spirit Yuma." I say under my breath with a smile.

"There is only one turn left for you!" Shark tells Yuma holding up a finger in emphases. "Why aren't you giving up this Duel?!" He asks Yuma in Anger and Frustration.

"Let me ask you, why do you want me to give up so badly?!" Yuma asks shark in return. "Going by that attitude of yours, have you also given up something important to you?!" He asks Shark.

"Have you abandoned something that was precious to you?!" Yuma yells at Shark.

I look over to see Shark gasping in surprise, his eyes wide with shock before the Numbers Aura returns.

"I for one never give up and will keep bringin it to 'em." Yuma tells shark. "I'll show you what I mean!"

"So you still have a way to turn this around?" Astral questions Yuma.

"I Do." Yuma Tells Astral. "I have a combo in my deck that can beat him."

"Combo?" I question to myself. Before flashing back to Last Night.

_"How am I supposed to Use this Card?" Yuma Asks Holding up a Card._

_"What Card is that?" I ask Yuma coming up into the Attic._

_"This one." Yuma tells me showing me the Card._

**_"Double Up Chance, _**_Huh?" I say reading the cards Effect before handing it back to him. "Put it into the Deck this will allow you to play around your opponent and that is the most important part of a duel, Always remember that." I tell him._

_"Yeah." Yuma says going back to his deck making, giving me the feeling that the advice I told him went through his head._

"I just hope you can draw it Yuma." I mentally say as Yuma pulls out the rice ball Haru gave him.

"Wait, Yuma what are you doing?" Kotori asks Yuma in shock as he begins to eat the rice ball.

"This is my victory meal, My Duel Meal!" Yuma tells Kotori.

"Oh?" I say with a grin. "Then win this Yuma." I say with a Thumbs Up.

"Yeah." Yuma says with a grin. "I've fully recharged." He tells Shark as he begins to do some backflips.

"Why the gymnastics?" I question to myself.

"My Turn!" Yuma yells out. "That's it! There's only one thing to do to beat that thing!" He says pointing at Leviath Dragon. "I'm gonna bring it to 'em!" He yells out running forward. "Draw!" He says as he jumps in the air, before landing unceremoniously on his behind. I chuckle a bit at that.

"It's here!" Yuma yells in happiness at the card.

"You did it Yuma, Now win this." I say with a smile.

"Yeah." Yuma says with a smile as well. "Now Go Hope, Attack Leviath Dragon!" Yuma says declaring his attack.

"I don't believe it!" Astral gasps in shock.

"Why?!" Kotori yells in shock.

"Why would he attack with Hope, who has lower Attack Points?!" Tetsuo questions in horror.

"Don't worry guys." I tell them. "I helped Yuma with a strategy in his Deck." "Although I didn't think it would be used like this." I tell them scratching my head.

"I then activate Hopes Effect." Yuma Announces. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, I negate Hope's attack!"

"What's the point in a combo that doesn't deal me any damage?!" Shark Asks Yuma.

"Oh, there's a point to it, all Right!" Yuma tells Shark. "I activate the Quick Play Magic Card! Double-Up Chance!" He announces.

"A Quick-Play Magic?!" Shark yells out in surprise.

"When my Monster's attack is negated, this card doubles that Monster's Attack Power and allows it to attack once again!" Yuma tells Shark explaining his spells effect, as Hope's attack power raises to 5000.

"5000 Attack Points?!" Shark mutters in Shock.

"Bring it to 'em, Hope, Attack Leviath Dragon!" Yuma yells out as Hope's attack destroyed Leviath Dragon and sends Shark Flying. (**Shark:0**) Yuma: **WIN**

"Did I win?" Yuma asks in shock.

"Yuma Won?" The three of us said in shock.

"Heh, first time for anything." I say with a chuckle. Literally in this case. The three of us look at each other and smile before going up to Yuma.

"I won, I defeated Shark!" Yuma says dancing around in happiness. "I brought it to 'em!"

"To think you'd lose to someone like him." I hear Cloud tell shark. "We're out outta here, Shark!" Cloud and Spike tell him before running off.

"Pathetic!" I hiss at the two lackeys.

I look over at Astral to see him reach his hand out towards Shark. I notice that my Pendant is glowing slightly as well. I look over at shark to see a card fly out of his body and into Astral's hand. I look over to see its Shark's Number Card.

"So this is Numbers 17, a Piece of my Memories." I hear Astral Muse to himself. "Does this mean, if I manage to collect all 99 scattered Numbers cards, I can recover my memory?" He asks himself

"Who knows, but Yuma and I will help you along the way." I tell Astral with a smile.

Astral Looks at me for a bit with a studying Gaze. "Thank you Ventus." He says with a small smile

"You're Welcome Astral." I tell him returning the smile

"Shark." Yuma says interrupting my Conversation.

"As we promised." Shark says handing over Tetsuo's Deck.

"So you really are returning Tetsuo's deck?" Yuma asks Shark.

"Yuma Tsukumo, I will remember this." Shark tells him, before walking off.

"Shark!" Yuma calls after him. "I had a ton of fun, Let's Duel again sometime!" Yuma tells him, "But we won't bet our decks next time." "Let's bring it to 'em together!" He tells Shark.

I see Shark pause for a sec at Yuma's words, swearing I saw a hint of a smile on His face before he continues walking off.

"You bet on the draw of a Single Card, and bet everything on it, huh?" Astral questions Yuma.

"Huh, did you suddenly have a little change in attitude?" Yuma Questions Astral. "Well, it's cool." He tells Astral with a smile. "What did you think?" He asks in giddiness

"Generally speaking, you are a Duelist whom goes beyond my understanding." Astral Tells Yuma cryptically, before smirking. "Toma."

"It's not Toma, It's Yuma!" Yuma yells out in anger.

"Shut up Toma." I say with a cheeky Grin as I wrap my arm around his shoulders. "Come on it's getting late lets head home."

"Yeah." Yuma says as we head home with Astral tagging along.

-Zexal-


	3. Chapter 3: The events after the fact!

AN: Chapters 1 and 2 have been edited to contain quotation marks to make reading easier.

**Chapter 3: The Events After The Fact!**

The next day after Yuma's Duel with Shark. I was walking along with Yuma, Astral, Kotori and Tetsuo on way home from school. I had heard from Haru earlier that day that everything was going crazy with the Litterbots. I had put that incident at the back of my mind, after she told me she was okay.

"So, you're gonna keep following me around?" Yuma says to Astral with a tint of annoyance in his voice.

"It's not that I don't want to leave, I just don't know how." Astral Explains to Yuma. "I might learn how to leave once I regain all of my memories." He hypothesizes.

"The Numbers, you said earlier they were the pieces of your memories, Right?" I question Astral.

"Correct Ven". Astral Answers me before turning to Yuma. "By Gathering all the Numbers as Ven" Said he tells Yuma.

"Numbers?!" Yuma yells out in annoyance. "You're not about to tell me that I'm the one who's gotta do it, are you?!" He asks Astral.

"Yuma's over there talking to himself again." Tetsuo Deadpans.

"Well, talking to Astral actually, but I can see how it would look like nothing to you." I say with my hands interlocked behind my head

"Doesn't Yuma realize he looks weird yelling at a being only you and him can see?" Kotori asks me.

I give Kotori a look. "This is Yuma we're talking about."

Kotori Chuckles at that. "Yeah that is true" She says with a slight sweat drop.

"That's a definite, NO pal." Yuma yells at Astral as we walk up to them, I chuckle a bit when Tetsuo tries waving his hands through the air to see if he can feel Astral.

"Quit Following Me" Yuma yells at Astral before Walking off.

"Yuma has become very weird lately." Kotori states.

I shrug and pull out a new lollipop from pocket. "I dunno, he's always been weird so I don't notice any difference" I say putting the new one into my mouth.

I hear Tetsuo and Kotori Laugh lightly at my comment.

"Come on guys, let's go catch up to Yuma" I tell them.

"Yeah" they both say in reply as we go to catch up with Yuma.

I catch up to Yuma in time for me to hear Astral State. "Observation Number 2: You are weird. I'll be sure to remember that."

I let out a loud laugh at that.

"What is it?" Kotori asks me.

"Astral's second observation." I tell Kotori as I whisper the observation into her ear.

I catch Kotori as she begins laughing so hard she almost collapses.

"Hey, Hey. It isn't THAT Funny." Yuma Yells.

"You're Right." I say with a Grin. "It's better."

"I really wish I knew what the Joke Was." Tetsuo states with a sweat drop

I pat him on the shoulder. "One day Tetsuo, one day"

"Guys, please stop laughing." Yuma begs before yelling at Astral. "I am NOT weird!

We were interrupted by a loud scream of horror.

"What was that?!" Yuma asks to no one in particular.

I look towards Yuma's House where it came from. "Probably Akari over reacting to something" I mentally state as we run to see what's wrong.

"What's wrong, Sis?!" Yuma yells out throwing open the door to the computer room where his sister is likely to be. Kotori, Tetsuo and I are hiding in the door frame knowing how scary Akari can be when upset.

"It's gone, the manuscript's gone, the system's been infected by a virus, and there's only one hour until the deadline" Akari stutters out in horror.

"C-Calm down, Sis" Yuma says trying to Placate his sister.

"Guys" I say with a gulp. "Maybe we should run"

I won't make my delivery "Akari mumbles.

"At times like this, my sister gets." Yuma says nervously.

"V-Ven is right" Kotori says. "We should run"

"Right" Tetsuo says as we start to run off.

"YUMA!" We hear Akari yell in fury, "You better find an explanation for this pronto!

"RUN!" I yell out in horror as we tear out of the house.

-Zexal-

A while later the five of us are in down town near the shops having calmed down.

"Man, it's impossible to deal with my sister when she gets like that." Yuma says.

"Tell me about it, she is downright scary" I say with a shiver

"That aside, this delay is way too much" looking at the Traffic.

"Well the traffic lights are all corrupted" I tell him.

"And the monorail's stuck in its tracks" Kotori adds on.

"Wh-What's this?!" Yuma questions, as the drink machine malfunctions and starts spewing out drinks. "Whoa, How Lucky It's raining juice" He yells out in happiness as he gathers up a bunch of them

"H-hey, Yuma, You can't just take those" Kotori stammers in protest while stamping her foot on the ground.

"I'll give them back" Yuma says in a sad tone as I notice a mechanical hand grab him.

"Cleaning! Cleaning!" the Obot states as it throws Yuma into its trash pile.

I pick up a dropped Grape flavored can and open it to take a drink. I look over at Yuma and do a spit take at the sight. Yuma is yelling at the Obot for it to let him go while Astral is floating upside down.

"Ventus!" Kotori yells at me.

"What?" I say before noticing her eyes on my drink can. "What I was thirsty" I say with a shrug.

-Zexal-

After we had gotten Yuma out of the trash can we decided that maybe Akari had calmed down enough and went back to Yuma's house. I watched the news over Akari's shoulder to get a grasp of the situation.

"Today, the city suffered a massive system downage." The anchorwomen states. "The Cause" The Screen is turned off by Akari. "The manuscripts gone" she mutters out in shock.

"It's time to eat" Yuma says clasping his hands together in thanks.

"I missed the delivery" Akari moans in shock.

I gently rub her shoulder in comfort.

"Thanks Ven" Akari says in a slightly better tone.

"No problem Nee" I say with a slight smile before grabbing my food plate and sitting down at the end of the table near Haru and Yuma. I notice Astral watch Yuma eat.

"Earlier today, I got grabbed by one of those O-bots!" Yuma tells them out of the blue.

"My, my, as did I!" Haru tells Yuma.

"You're okay right?" I ask Haru double checking on earlier.

"Yes, Ven" Haru says with a smile.

"Huh? What's with that? Akari asks raising her head to look at us.

"It was just on the news, It's a big crisis" Yuma tells Akari, I figured she wasn't really listening and missed it.

"Yeah" I say with a grin "even the vending machine broke down" I say before looking out the window to see something. "Wow, the monorail's moving again" I tell them.

"Looks like things are finally working again." Haru says with a smile.

"So basically, I wasn't the only one who lost all their data?" Akari questions snapping out of her funk.

"Sis" Yuma questions looking at Akari.

"Something smells fishy" Akari states.

I let out a chuckle when Haru and Yuma begin to sniff themselves at that comment.

"I don't think Akari meant that kind of fishy" I say in a deadpan tone.

"NO! I mean this incident smells!" Akari yells out slamming her hands onto the table.

"I can't waste any time, I have to replenish my energy" Akari yells out as she swipes Yuma's fish.

"That's mine" Yuma yells in protest.

"Gotta hurry and eat" Akari murmurs as she downs the fish and runs off.

"God!" Yuma groans before downing his rice.

"Lively place tonight" I say with a sigh.

"Yes it is" Haru says with a grin.

"So this is the method humans use to replenish their energy?" Astral questions to himself.

I give Astral a discreet nod as I finish my meal. I go up and change into my night cloths which is a simple T shirt and sweat shorts. I walk out of my room to see Astral hanging outside the bathroom door.

"So, that energy is then released after said replenishment, I think" Astral mutters to himself.

"What's up?" I ask Astral before hearing a flush. "Ah" I say understanding what's going on.

"There's lots of reasons for this!" I hear Yuma yell through the door.

"I am confused as to why I can't join you inside there." Astral tells Yuma.

I chuckle at that.

"Baka" I hear Yuma groan. "It's a trade secret method we use to release our energy, if someone happened to see us while were doing it, we'd die. He says in a serious tone.

I chuckle under my hand as I see Astral's eyes widen in shock.

"My word" Astral gasps in horror. I feel like my ribs are about to burst.

"To think you would go to such lengths for nourishment" Astral mutters to himself. "Observation #3: "Humans must eat and release in an endless combination. However, they will die the moment anyone sees them doing this." He says to himself making me full out burst out laughing.

"Can it!" Yuma yells out at both of us.

"But it is peculiar, if humans really operate in such a perfect combination, why is your dueling so incompetent?" Astral questions Yuma.

"And what the heck is that supposed to mean?" I hear Yuma question Astral with a tint of anger in his voice.

"I think Astral means that you are unskilled when it comes to dueling" I answer to Yuma

"Shut Up!" Yuma yells out coming out of the bathroom.

"There's no such Thing as a "Perfect Human", it's more fun when you fail!" Yuma tells Astral.

"You must love having fun if you fail that often" I say with a sweat drop.

"If you fail, you will lose something of great value." Astral tells Yuma.

"What?" I question looking at both of them.

"Humph, I can't bring it to 'em if I'm scared of failing, A spirit like you will never get it" Yuma tells Astral before walking off.

"Geez" I say with a groan as I rub my head.

Later that night I was sitting on my bed with my deck spread out in front of me. "A way to combat the numbers" I mutter to himself as I look at my deck.

"So you are a Duelist as well?" I hear a voice over my shoulder, making me jump in shock before looking at the source. "Geeze, Astral you scared me." I tell him trying to slow my beating heart.

"Wind-Ups?" Astral questions looking at my deck archtype.

"Yeah, it was near me when I woke up two years and didn't remember anything." I tell him.

"What happened" Astral questions.

"Not much" I tell Astral. "I woke up and had my deck and duel disk near me."

"I see" Astral says before gesturing to go on.

"Well, one thing led to another and I ended up getting unofficially adopted by the Tsukumo family" I tell Astral. "they may not be biological but there mine" I say with a smile before looking at Astral "And who cares if I don't have my old memories as long as I make new ones and am happy I'll be fine, plus they couldn't have been important if I forgot them."

"Are you sure about that, what if you had a mission" Astral questions.

I give a shrug "if I do have anything like that its purpose will become clear" I tell Astral as I finish up my deck and put it up before climbing into the bed. "Night Astral" I tell him.

"Night Ven" Astral says as he floats up to Yuma's room.

When Astral is out of sight I pull out a card I had hidden from him. "Numbers 26" I mutter to myself looking at the card before putting it away in the desk drawer under some bits of junk and turning over to go to sleep.

I was woken up the next morning by a loud crashing sound. "Yuma must have fallen out of his hammock" I mutter to myself once I had calmed down.

"Su-weet! The guy's not here anymore!" I hear Yuma cheer.

"Astral's not here anymore?" I question to myself before looking at the clock "SHIT! I slept in" I yell as I get up and throw my uniform on.

I run into the kitchen still buttoning up my shirt. "Morning Haru" I say quickly before running out. While straightening up my tie.

-Zexal-

"Made it" I gasp out as I slid into my seat next to Kotori.

"Okay! Listen up, everyone!" Ukyo-sensei tells us making us look up at him. When I look at him I feel a buzzing in the back my head. I shake my head lightly to clear it out but it doesn't seem to go away.

"Due to yesterday's communication error, the entire school's broadcasting computers are currently down as a result, so we can't access the textbooks." Ukyo-Sensei tells us. "The cause of that error was" he begins to tell us.

"Me! Please let me answer that" a blue haired kid known as Takashi Todoroki, AKA Class Rep answered in a teacher's pet tone.

"Oh? Class Rep, you know something about this? Ukyo Questions in curiosity as Takashi goes up to the front.

"I do! I simply used my programming skills to mentally place myself in a similar setting" Takashi states to the class as I make mocking gestures with my hands causing Kotori to stifle a giggle.

"To Summarize, the malfunctioning issue was caused by someone infiltrating the city's host computer" Takashi states. "So if I were to create…"

"Sensei!" Yuma yells out making me snap my heap due to Takashi's monotone voice putting me to sleep.

"How about we make today into a Duel tournament! "Yuma states.

"Yeah, why not?" I say standing up picking up my duel disk. "We literally have nothing else."

"Hmm… Perhaps" Ukyo says, the buzzing feeling increasing for a bit. "Why not?" he says with a smile.

"Booyah, I'm gonna bring it to every last one of you today!" Yuma yells out in happiness.

"All Right!" "That's Ukyo-sensei for you" Various class members begin to shout out.

"Just when I was finally onstage… In that Case" I hear Takashi mutter out silently over the cheering classmates. "Yuma-Kun" he yells out gaining everyone's attention. "To summarize, you Duel with me!" He says pointing at Yuma.

"Sure! It'd be my Pleasure!" Yuma tells Takashi

Yuma and Takashi do their dueling rituals as I go and stand next to Kotori and put on my D-Gazer.

"AR Vision – Link Established" the computer voice says.

"DUEL!" Takashi and Yuma Yell.

"You can do it, Yuma! Kotori Cheers.

"Bring it to 'em Bro" I say with a smile.

"Yuma-kun, is there any merit to the rumors that you defeated Shark" Takashi questions Yuma.

"You bet! It's true" Yuma Boasts.

"I just can't believe it, that you did, despite having never defeated me in your entire life." Takashi says with a hint of anger on his face.

"It's the truth, Class Rep." Tetsuo brags to Takashi.

"We're the witnesses!" Kotori tells Takashi

"It was an intense duel" I add on.

"So I see. Meaning that if I were to win this Duel, to summarize, it would mean that I am stronger then Shark, correct?" Takashi states with a maniacal grin.

"You do realize that is a complete bullshit assessment" I say as I rub the temples of my head.

"You keep saying "To Summarize."" Yuma points out.

"It is slowly getting annoying" I say digging into my ear with my pinky.

"It'd be really bad if your throat was sum-mothered by that sea lion-sized sentence!" Yuma states.

I burst out laughing and lean into Kotori to stabilize myself from falling down.

"If my throat was smothered?!" Takashi questions in deadpan shock.

Tetsuo and Kotori sigh at that as I calm down my laughing. I manage to calm down enough to stand steadily. I see Kotori has a deep blush on her face. I give her a small smile and take my hands from around her and turn back to duel.

"Okay, let's get it on!" Yuma yells. "I got me a Number card! He brags to Takashi.

"Yuma you don't need to boast" I mutter under my breath.

"Huh, Gone! The Number's gone!" I hear Yuma yell out in a panic.

"WHAT?!" I yell out in shock causing everyone to look at me, causing me to chuckle in embarrassment. "Maybe since Astral is gone, hope is gone is well" I mentally muse.

"Here I come, my turn! Draw!" Takashi yells out.

"H-HOLD ON A MINUTE!" Yuma yells out in panic.

The duel was decidedly one sided with Yuma doing no damage to Takashi's life.

"Go Bugman X, Direct Attack" Takashi yells for his final attack.

"You gotta be kidding!" Yuma moans as his life hits 0.

"4,000 to zero" Tetsuo says covering him face in embarrassment.

"Y-Yuma" Kotori groans out.

"I guess Astral helped out more than we thought" I say silently to Kotori.

"Yeah" she says in reply before turning to look at Yuma and yell at him. "He totally wiped the floor with you"

"As expected, someone like Yuma-kun who never studies could never beat me!" Takashi Boasts.

I grit my teeth in anger and annoyance at Takashi's tone.

"To summarize, a fool can't hope to win a duel" he says.

"URUSAI!" I say with a feral look and feel my teeth became sharper. I walk up to Takashi and get into his face. "If you keep this attitude up you'll have to duel me, and you don't want that do you?"

"N-No I don't" Takashi says with a nervous gulp.

"All right, calm down, calm down" Ukyo says as he walks up to the three of us.

"Life and dueling are one and the same, it never goes just as you plan." Ukyo begins in a lesson.

"One should learn through example" Ukyo says before grabbing a card off Takashi's Duel Disk and holding it up to the class. "Bugman, for example, lives off of failure."

"Bugman… An electrical fairy that lives off other bugs." Ukyo explains to the class. "It becomes extremely powerful because it live off its bug friends."

I go back to Kotori and stand next to her and smile as Ukyo continues his lecture. "It's said that those who witness its full moon like appearance may forever live in happiness"

"Sensei, to summarize, there's no such thing as stuff like that in real life!" Takashi points out.

"Takashi, just because it doesn't exist in real life doesn't mean it's impossible just a little improbable" I say with a little wave of my hand.

"That's ridiculous" Takashi argues.

"There is. I'm sure of it" Ukyo tells Takashi gaining a look of confusion from him.

"Yuma, it's fine that you lost just now, you just have to learn from it." Ukyo tells Yuma.

"Isn't that the challenge spirit you like to call "bringing it to 'em"?" Ukyo asks Yuma.

"Ukyo-Sensei!" Yuma says with teary eyes. "You're right, I'll always keep bringin' it to 'em!"

Ukyo chuckles at Yuma's answer and I smile at the scene.

"V-V-Ven" I hear Kotori stammer out.

"Yeah Koto?" I say looking over at me.

She holds up her left hand which has another hand holding it. I realize it's my right hand. I quickly let go as if I was burned by an electric shock. "S-sorry" I stammer out feeling like my face is on fire, wondering when I had grabbed her hand, I didn't remember doing that.

"I-It's alright" Kotori stammers with a tomato red blush.

The rest of the day went by relatively quickly.

-Zexal-

"Ukyo-sensi sure is a nice guy!" Yuma says as we are walking home.

"Yeah" I say with a smile. "He's a really smart teacher and makes it fun as well"

"Yeah" Yuma says in agreement. "I wanna become like that man" he says.

"That's a good goal Yuma" I say before a red car comes screeching up to us which I recognize as Akari's.

Akari rolls down the window and leans out the window wearing sunglasses. "Hi, Yuma, Ven!" she greets us.

"Nice look" I say giving Akari a thumbs up.

"Sis!" Yuma says in shock.

"Why don't the three of you come for a little drive?" Akari says pulling down the sunglasses over her eyes with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"We all pile into her car" Yuma sitting in the front with Kotori and I in the back.

"It's certainly a good thing that the computer virus incident that spread yesterday only lasted for a while." Akari tells up.

"Yeah it is" I tell her. "But I'm sensing a But here"

"Your right Ven" Akari says as she shifts the gear and speeds up a bit. "What if things had lasted much longer?" She questions.

"Chaos, pure and utter Chaos" I reply thinking of yesterday

"Right, there's a very good chance the entire city would be thrown into a huge panic." Akari tells us.

"A-A huge panic?" Yuma stammers out.

"Problems way beyond the traffic lights or the vending machines" I tell him.

"Right Ven." Akari says. "Suppose the banks' data was erased and rewritten, or say the hospital lost all its data. It'd be a terrible thing, wouldn't it?"

"People would lash out in fear" I say in a solemn voice.

"Y-You serious?" Yuma questions nervously.

"Who would try to do such a thing?" Kotori muses.

"Who knows." I say with a mental shrug.

"Well, the computer virus was transferred from the jurisdiction within your school." Akari tells us.

"WHAT?!" I yell out in shock. "Maybe the Numbers are involved here" I mentally muse to myself. I knew everyone in the school and no one would try something like this without an outside influence

"I want the two of you to stake out the jurisdiction." Akari explains to us as we drive up to the school

"Heh most people try to get out of school, here were trying to stay in." I say in a joking tone making Kotori chuckle.

"Heh the two love birds are flirting" Akari Jokes.

"We're Not Lovebirds!" Kotori and I yell at the same time. Causing Akari to chuckle before turning serious.

"All Joking Aside." Akari tells us. "There's a good chance the culprit will appear again"

"And you want us to stake out the library to see if they strike again, correct?" I ask Akari.

"Yes" She says with a nod.

"This seems pretty interesting, don't you think?!" Kotori asks in a giddy voice.

"Hold it. Why do we have to do this?" Yuma Protests.

I lightly hit Yuma on the shoulder. "Come on Yuma. Where's your sense of adventure"

"I don't wanna hear any complaints, It's my article that was ruined by this" Akari tells Yuma before turning around and looking up angrily and shaking her fist. "Once we find the culprit, I'll karate chop the guy 'till he's blue in the face!"

"Boy when Akari goes out for revenge, She Really goes out for revenge" I mentally comment"

I grab Kotori and Yuma by their wrists. "Right Then Mizuki Kotori, Tsukumo Yuma. Allons-Y" I say as I semi drag them into the school and to the library.

-Zexal-

"Listen up Yuma" Kotori tells Yuma who had a bored look on his face. "Your sister mentioned to Ven that the culprit is sure to appear in the library so he can access its personal computer"

"Oi pay attention!" I yell to Yuma slapping him awake.

"OW!" Yuma yells out, before going back into a slump and hissing out. "What a drag…"

"Gosh! Shape up and get on lock-out already!" Kotori snaps at Yuma.

"She's right Yuma" I say going to stand near Kotori. "We have to keep a constant lookout"

-Zexal-

A few hours had past but no one that could be the culprit had shown up yet, I was laying down on the ground with my feet resting up against the wall with my headphones over my ears.

"It's almost closing time" Kotori States.

"Maybe he's just not coming today?" Yuma questions.

I turn to look at them. "We'll give it ten more minutes before we call it a day."

I hear Kotori gasp in surprise which causes me to jump up onto my feet and go to see what shocked her.

"Yuma, Ven look isn't that…" She asks letting the question hand.

"Class Rep, Takashi." Yuma and I state in surprise.

"Why is he acting all suspicious" I question with a frown.

Yuma runs out to intercept Takashi. "Yuma!" I groan rubbing the bridge of my nose before going after him.

"That's a flash drive!" I hear Kotori comment, I look to see Takashi holding up said flash drive. I frown in suspicion.

Takashi plugs it into computer. I can't see what it loads but Takashi suddenly starts to panic. "Don't tell me this is…!"

"Caught you" Yuma Yells grabbing Takashi.

I take a seat at the computer and pull out the black rimmed glasses from my pocket I called my brainy specs and put them on and got to work on the computer trying to isolate the virus and its source.

"So you were the culprit behind the incident!" Yuma interrogates Takashi"

"No Yuma." I tell him working on the computer. "His shock at the virus appearing was genuine. He's just a victim of circumstance."

"V-ven's right" Takashi stutters out. "I was just being used"

"You're lying!" Yuma yells out. "We just saw you input the virus"

"Kotori slap Yuma for me would you" I say not looking up from the computer having to focus on it. I hear a loud slap and an Ow. "Thanks Koto"

"What are you doing Ven" Yuma asks with what I see out of my peripheral vision as a red cheek.

"Intervening the culprit and trying to find the source location." I tell Yuma.

"Who the Wha'?" Yuma says in confusion.

"Never mind" I say knowing it would be impossible to explain it in Yuma terms.

"Damn it, I came here to retrieve the data files so I could reveal the culprit's whereabouts!" Takashi tells us.

"And it never occurred to you that the culprit had a backup plan in case anyone tried to tail him did it?" I scold Takashi.

"Y-yeah. Without knowing it, I activated the installation files that launched the Virus Bomb." Takashi says sadly. "I accidently released the virus bomb into the city!"

"GOT IT!" I yell out before jumping out the seat and dashing out the door pulling out the D-Gazer to call Akari.

-Zexal-

"He Triggered the Virus Bomb" Akari asks in shock.

"Yeah! We're on our way to intercept the culprit" I tell her while running. "So I'll have to leave the virus Bomb in your hands Akari-Nee" I say using the honorific that I only use in very serious situations.

"Got it" Akari tells me. "Good luck Ven"

"Yeah" I say before closing the connection.

-Zexal-

We arrived at a tall tower that looked like it was still under construction.

"It's over there, the culprit is inside the nodule within the top of the tower!" Takashi tells us having looked over my shoulder at the location.

"Thank you captain obvious" I say with an eye roll.

"You sure the culprit's really hiding out in here?" Yuma questions.

"There's a chance they left, but we'll never know unless we check it out first hand" I tell Yuma

We walk through a door and it suddenly closes behind us, Takashi, Yuma, and Kotori look back in shock while I keep my sights focused straight ahead.

"Surprise, surprise" a Voice calls out. The High pitched buzzing from earlier returns in full force. I rub my ear to try and get it to go away.

"Despite the Various Options, you made it here so quickly" I look up to see, "Ukyo" I gasp out in shock.

"Why are you here, Sensei?" Yuma asks.

"So, to summarize, Ukyo-sensei is the culprit?!" Takashi yells in shock.

"No!" I tell them. "He's only the catalyst.

"I suppose you could say that" Ukyo tells Takashi ignoring my comment.

"You gotta be pulling my leg, Sensei" Yuma tells in protest.

"The fact that our Class Rep was able to make it here was all within my expectations." Ukyo tells us.

"To summarize, this was a trap!" Takashi bites out.

"What is it and everyone falling for traps" I mentally question.

"The virus bomb you uploaded will go off in a mere 30 minutes." Ukyo tells Takashi.

"Baka" I say hitting Takashi on the head.

"Because I wanted you to witness firsthand my virus bomb being set off." Ukyo tells us.

"So that makes me an accomplice" Takashi questions in shock.

Ukyo takes off his glasses and pulls down his collar to reveal a glowing **34** mark on his neck.

"Numbers, I knew it" I bite out.

Yuma's Emperors Key begins to glow and Astral materializes out of it.

"Astral your back!" I say with happiness at the return of one of my Nakama.

"That's the mark of the Numbers" Astral tells Yuma giving me a nod.

"You didn't get sent away?!" Yuma yells in shock.

"Yuma… What does that mean" I hiss

"N-N-N-Nothing, nothing at all" Yuma stammers out.

"It'd better" I tell him.

"Of course not" Astral tells Yuma.

"But you weren't here all this time!" Yuma points out.

"Maybe there's a pocket dimension in the key, I mean he did just come out of it." I point out.

"Correct" Astral tells me.

"Y-Yuma Kun, Why is he talking to himself" Takashi asks Kotori.

"He's probably talking to Astral, he's a Dueling Sprit only Yuma and Ven can see for some reason." I notice she leaves out the part where she can see Astral if I'm touching her.

"Tchh, talking with this guy's a waste of time!" Yuma mutters under his breath before turning back to Ukyo. "Sensei, why are you doing something so stupid?!"

"Consider this a challenge issued down from me" Ukyo tells Yuma before bringing his chair down to our level. "It is no different from you "bringing it to 'em"!"

"No it's not!" Yuma snaps out. "Causing trouble for others isn't what we call "Bringing it to 'em"!

"Yuma, lets duel him." Astral tells Yuma gaining a look of surprise from Yuma. "His heart is being engulfed by the Numbers" He explains.

"It's pointless to persuade him unless we remove the Numbers" I tell Yuma taking a few steps forward.

"V-Ven" Yuma questions.

"You had the last one" I tell Yuma before pointing at Ukyo. "Let's Duel, Ukyo-Sensei, if you lose to me, you'll agree to stop that virus bomb!"

"DUEL?!" I see Ukyo's eyes pulse purple before going back to normal color. "So be it, if you win, I'll stop the virus bomb!" he tells me.

"But I do wonder if you can oppose me? Ukyo muses.

"We won't know until we try." I tell him as I pull my duel disk out of my pocket and Slide it onto my wrist and activate it. "**DUEL DISK-SET**" "**D-Gazer**-**Set"** I yell out as I activate my dueling gear.

**"****AR-Vision! Link Established" **The computer voice tells us.

**"****DUEL!"** Ukyo and I yell out.

"You can do it Ven" I hear Kotori Cheer.

"You better win" Takashi mutters in a praying position. "If you don't I'll be framed as a criminal!"

"I'll be going first!" Ukyo says.

"Fine by me" I say with a shrug.

"My turn! Draw!" Ukyo yells out drawing his card. "I set a Monster in Face-Down Defense Position!"

"Face-Down Defense Position" I hear Yuma Comment. "What kind of Monster did he set?"

"Oi can the peanut gallery keep it down" I tell Yuma.

"I will leave it at that and end my turn." Ukyo tells me.

"My Turn! Draw!" I yell out before drawing a card and looking at my options.

"First off I activate the Continuous Magic **Wind-Up Factory**. Due to This Card's effect each time one of my Wind-Up Monster's activates their effect I can search my Deck for a Level 4 or Lower Wind-Up Monster and move it into my hand." I tell Ukyo explaining my cards effect.

"Hey, What's a Continuous Magic?" I hear Kotori ask Takashi.

" Unlike Normal Magic Cards, Continuous Magics will continue their effects as long as the card remains on the field." Takashi explains to kotori.

"Next I summon **Wind-Up Rabbit**" I tell Ukyo Summoning out my monster. (**Wind-Up Rabbit, Level 3, 1400 Atk**) I set one card face down and end my turn.

"Huh, why didn't you attack his face down monster" Yuma questions.

"He simply didn't want to risk taking damage from a reckless attack and decided to set himself up for a later move." Astral explains to Yuma.

"My turn! Draw!" Ukyo says beginning his turn. "First I Flip Summon **Bugman X**" he says flipping up his Monster.(**Bugman X,Level 3, 2000 Def**)

"Whew, if I had attacked I would have lost 700 life" I comment to myself.

"I summon **Bugman Y**" Ukyo says Normal summoning his second Bugman. (**Bugman Y, Level 3, 1400 Atk**) "I continue with a Magic Card from my hand." Ukyo says holding up a Spell. "**Bug Load**, Activates." "This card lets both players select one Level Four or lower Monster on their field, we can then Special Summon a Monster from our hands holding the same level as the chosen Monster." He tells me explaining the card's effect. "I Special Summon **Bugman Z**" (**Bugman Z, Level 3, 0 Atk**)

"I Special Summon **Wind-Up Hunter** from my hand due to Bug Loads effect." I tell Ukyo summoning out my Monster. (**Wind-Up Hunter, Level 3, 1600 Atk**)

"Again with the Low Attack" Yuma comments.

"Remember Toma, Low attack usually means a good effect." Astral tells Yuma.

"IT'S YUMA!" Yuma yells out at Astral.

"Be careful Ven, I sense it's coming" I look over to see Astral floating next to me.

"Yeah" I say with a nod turning focus back to duel.

"You just provided me with the perfect chance I needed for victory" Ukyo tells me with an evil grin.

"Huh?' I question wondering how that is.

"I overlay the Level Three Bugman X, Y, and Z!" Ukyo Announces as his monsters fly up into the air and the galaxy portal opens.

"Here it comes." I tell myself.

"I construct the Overlay Network with my three Monsters!" Ukyo Chants.

"He played it as Expected" Astral Comments beside me.

"A Xyz Monster using three overlays?!" Yuma questions in shock.

"Oh Yes!" Ukyo says with a maniacal look. "Xyz Summon, Show yourself; **Numbers 34: Computer Beast Terabyte**" The Number appears in its sealed form and quickly reveals its real form. (**Number 34 Computer Beast Terabyte, Rank 3, 2900 Def**)

"N-Numbers?! I hear Takashi stutter out in shock. "Please tell me what the Monster is!"

"It's here the Numbers" I say with a grin, feeling the excitement of a strong opponent make my blood boil.

"Allow me to Proceed" Ukyo interrupts us. "I activate Terabyte's effect!" he says detaching the Overlay Unit. "I can detach one of the Overlay Units on this card once per turn, and gain control over one of the opponent's Level Four or lower Monsters for the turn!"

"WHAT?!" I yell out in shock at the effect as it Targets My Wind-Up Hunter.

"This is the perfection that makes up my Dueling!" He tells me.

"I Activate Wind-Up Rabbits Monster Effect" I yell out

"What?" Ukyo questions in shock.

"Just Once while this Card is Face Up on the field I can target 1 Wind-Up Monster on my field and Banish it from the game until my next stand by phase. "DIMENSION BOUNCE." I yell out as Hunter is launched from the field. "Next since a Wind-Up activated its effect I use Wind-Up Factory to add Wind-Up Magician to my hand." I show him the card before adding it to my hand.

"H-How Dare You" Ukyo growled in anger as the Number Pulses. "HOW DARE YOU INTERUPT MY PERFECT DUELING!" He yells out in fury.

"Perfection, Perfection" I bite out. "Perfection isn't important at all, in fact it's Impossible"

"Perfection is real, Perfection is everything!" Ukyo replies. "I infected this city's program in order to seek the perfection I seek, a dunce like you can't hope to win!"

"Crazy loon" I mutter under my breath.

"This is the same Sensei I praised so Much?" Yuma questions to himself.

I put my hand on my chest. "I know what you mean Yuma, It hurts to see the man we respect doing horrible things."

"Where does it hurt?" Astral questions me.

"It's just an expression. A word that means something deeper than the surface meaning, but the pain I feel is an emotional one that rests in the heart." I tell Astral

"I See" Astral says. "Observation Number 5: Humans feel Pain in their hearts, I'll be sure to remember that."

"Number 5?" I mentally question "where was Number 4."

"In summary, I understand this pain I'm feeling now all too well." Yuma comments.

"Yuma-Kun, Yuma-Kun" Takashi hisses out to Yuma. "I hate to bring it up at a time like this, but… "To Summarize" is meant to be the finalizing part of the sentence to give closure to the subject at hand. "He explains to Yuma. "So in the end, it gives off a meaning of "absolute finalization" of sorts."

"Do any of us actually care?" I question.

"Nope" Kotori says with a bored sigh.

"Whac'cha talking about?!" Yuma yells out in confusion. "I can use it however I want!"

"Acting like a child" I say with a sigh before turning my focus back on my opponent.

"To summarize, it means a weak minded fool like you can't possibly defeat my perfection" Ukyo tells me as he begins to laugh insanely.

-Zexal-


	4. Chapter 4: The Turnaround Countdown!

AN: Hello everyone and welcome to my first attempt at a duel, hope you enjoy it, I apologize if the duel seems lack luster this was really just a testing stage for my duel writing skills if I'm totally honest. also enjoy the minor VeKo fluff at the end. I also realize Astral has nothing to do with a counter strategy in this duel, I am simple using the episode titles as my chapter titles. (minor note, chapter 3 has been edited to include Kotori's Continuous Spell dialogue)

**Chapter 4: The Turnaround Countdown! The Counter Strategy Lies with Astral!?**

"I set one card face-down and end my turn!" Ukyo announces.

I looked over at the clock to see that 20 minutes were left. "Crap, I have to hurry up" I mentally tell myself.

"It's my Turn!" Astral yells out, making me stumble a bit as I forgot he was there.

"Astral, can you observe my dueling a bit more before you decide to take over?" I ask him.

Astral studies me for a bit. "Very well Ven, but if I feel your losing I will take over."

"Deal" I tell Astral before turning back to Ukyo.

"I know you told me that there is someone there, but it just looks weird to see Ventus-Kun talking to himself." I hear Takashi comment.

"Yeah it does look a little weird at first, but you get used to it" Kotori tells him.

"My Turn, DRAW!" I yell out pulling my card from the Pile. "At the Stand By phase the banished Wind-Up Hunter returns to my field." The Monster comes crashing down from the sky. "Next I activate Wind-Up Hunters Effect." "Just once while this card is Face Up on the field I can release a Wind-Up Monster to randomly destroy a card in your hand. I Release Wind-Up Rabbit. Overtight Shot." I yell out as Hunter releases its arrow and destroys a card in Ukyo's Hand.

"Bastard" Ukyo Growls out.

"Good Job Ven, you lowered his resources, perhaps you are a better duelist then Yuma" Astral Comments.

"Thanks Astral" I tell him before turning back to duel "Since a Wind-Up Activated their effect I use Factories Effect to add Wind-Up Dog to my Hand. I looked at my hand and field and considered my options. I decide on a play. "I activate from my hand the Magic Card **Thunder Crash**, Due to this cards effect I destroy all monsters I control to inflict 300 points of Damage to you." I tell him as Wind-Up Hunter is destroyed in an electrical shock and Ukyo is hit for 300 Life Points. (**Ukyo-3700**)

"Yes, you dealt Life Damage" Yuma yells out.

"No" I say with a shake of the head. "That was merely to bait out that set card."

"How Dare You damage my life!" Ukyo growls out, I see the Numbers Aura glowing in his eyes. "I activate a Trap Card!" he announces, I brace myself for its effect. "Damage Vaccine Omega Max, When I take damage, this card recovers my Life by the damage I received" Ukyo tells me as his life goes back up to full. (**Ukyo: 3700-4000**)

"So that's his strategy, life recovery" I comment to myself.

"I yearn for a perfect victory! Ukyo tells me. "I won't let you injure even a speck of my Life!

I look at my hand again. "I Summon **Wind-Up Dog**" I announce as the Toy dog appears on the field. (**Wind-Up Dog, Level 3, 1200 Atk**) "Next I activate Wind-Up Dog's Monster Effect. Once while this card if face up on the Field I can raise Its Level to 5 and its attack Power to 1800. "Next I activate my **Zenmailstrom** Trap Card." I announce as my card flips up. "I release a Face-Up Wind-Up Monster with 1500 or more attack" I explain as I put Dog into the Grave. "Then from my hand I summon **Wind-Up Rat. **(**Wind-Up Rat, Level 3. 600 ATK**) "Next, due to the Second Part of Zenmailstrom's Effect I summon from my deck a Wind-Up Monster with 600 Attack" I explain as a Card pops out of the Deck. "I Summon **Wind-Up Magician"** (**Wind-Up Magician, Level 4, 600 Atk**)

"Next I activate Wind Up Rat's Effect, Once While this card Is face up on the Field I can turn it to Defense Position to Revive a Wind-Up Monster in the Grave." I announce as I turn Rat to Defense. "I summon Wind-Up Hunter" I grab the card that slide out of my graveyard and put in onto the Monster Zone. "Next Since a Wind-Up used their effect, I summon a Wind-Up Monster from my Deck as long as it's level 4 or Lower. I Bring out the Level 2 **Wind-Up** **Snail**" I say grabbing the card and putting it onto the monster zone. (**Wind-Up Snail, Level 2, 2000 Def**)

"Ahh This Isn't Good" Takashi begins to yell in Panic "Even if I try to say I was being used, the fact remains that I was the one who launched the virus bomb, in summary, I'll be blamed as the culprit!

"URUSAI!" I yell in anger, causing Takashi to become quiet in shock. "Just take a deep breath and calm down" I tell him

"R-Right" Takashi says as he takes a few deep breaths.

"Moving on" I say going back to the duel "I activate Wind-Up Hunters Effect.

"Huh, But I thought you already used its effect?" Kotori questions.

"Well it's true I can only use the Wind-Up effect once while It's Face Up, that condition is reset if it is ever flipped face down or leave the field." I explain to Kotori

"I see" Kotori says.

"I release Wind-Up Magician to destroy a card in your hand. OVERWIND SHOOT!" I yell out as the arrow destroys another Card Leaving 0 Card left in his Hand.

"Awesome VEN, now Ukyo-Sensei doesn't have any card's Left" Yuma yells out in happiness.

I look over at the clock to see 17 Minutes left. "Perhaps dueling will a stall deck on a time limit wasn't a great Idea" I mentally Comment. "Lastly I Overlay my Level 3 Wind-Up Hunter and Wind-Up Rat." I announce as my Monsters turn into balls of light and go spiraling into the air before going into the Overlay Network. "With These Two Level 3 Monsters I build The Overlay Network" I Chant. "Oh Defender of the Children's Dreams. Now Come forth from the deepest depths of Imagination and protect those who would lead this world to a new Era. XYZ SHOUKAN! Advance Forth and Protect, Rank 3 **Wind-Up Zenmaines**" I announce as my Monster Appears. (**Wind-Up Zenmaines, Rank 3, 2000 Def**) I look at my hand with is Just the Wind-Up Magician I had Searched Earlier, and a Spell Card "I end my Turn with this" I announce.

"My Turn! Draw!" Ukyo Yells out as He draws his Only Hand Card. "I activate Number 34: Computer Beast TeraByte's Monster Effect" Ukyo Announces. "I can detach an Overlay Unit and gain control over one of my opponent's Level Four or lower Monsters!"

I frown in confusion at that. The Only Target he could take was my Wind-Up Snail and that wouldn't do him much good. "Unless the point was to get the Overlay Units to the grave" I mentally Comment as Wind-Up Snail Goes to Ukyo's Side.

"I See" I hear Astral Comment beside me, I turn to look at his with a questioning eye. "You knew that He would try to steal your monster so you purposely summoned out a weak monster while leaving yourself with a high defensed Xyz Monster that he couldn't steal."

"Yeah, I had a feeling that I went with." I tell Astral.

"Your Dueling is very effective" Astral Comments "It seems unlikely I will have to take over"

"Had you not destroyed my two Continuous Spells I had in my hand last turn I would have been able to use a combo to deal Damage" Ukyo practically growls out.

"Whew" I breathe out. "If that Combo had gone through, I could have been in a bit of a pinch down the road" I mentally comment.

"If this was Yuma Dueling No doubt that my life would be on the line" Astral comments.

"Don't say that" I tell Astral. "You're my Friend and I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Thanks Ven" Astral says with a smile.

"Ventus-Kun!" I look over to see Takashi in a weird Swan like Position.

"Ventus-Kun, you're a Garyouhousuu (1)" he says switching so he is on one leg with his arms out like a bird.

I burst out laughing at this. "Thanks Takashi, that helped my mood"

"A Gachouhoso(2)?" Yuma Questions in Confusion.

"NO!" Takashi yells out. "A Garyou as in a crouching dragon, and Housuu refers to a Houou, a Young Phoenix!" Takashi explains to Yuma.

"I see" Yuma says in a tone that says he really doesn't

"In Summary, outstanding talent lies dormant within your brother, and you as well Yuma-kun" Takashi tells Yuma.

"In me?" Yuma asks in confusion.

"Yes, you can become a great duelist if you can unlock that talent, you will no doubt win your duels!" Takashi tells Yuma.

"Wow, you're praising me too much!" Yuma says with a blush. "Yosh I will try my best"

"Observation Number 6: Humans work their hardest when they are praised" Astral Comments.

"It feels better to do a task that someone thanks you for, it just makes us happy" I explain to Astral as best I can.

The room suddenly begins to shake. "Nani" I yell out in surprise as the room starts to move up.

"The Elevator It's moving!" Yuma Comments

The roof opens up and we go outside.

"I-I can see the sky" Takashi comments.

"We're moving upwards" Kotori Comments. I know it's an obvious think but I don't bash on her for it.

"This will be your front row seats to the view of my virus bomb's success!" Ukyo says with a slight chuckle. "I set one card face-down and end my Turn!" Ukyo announces. "At the end phase the monster stolen by Terabytes Effect Returns to Its controller's field." He announces as Wind-Up Snail returns to my side.

"Shoot! What's wrong with Sensei?!" Yuma complains.

"My Turn! Draw!" I yell out Drawing into a Spell Card. "I set a card and I activate Wind-Up Snail's effect." I announce. "Just once while this card is face up on the field I can target one set card on the field and return it to the hand" I explain. "I return the card I just set" I say as Snail slides under my set card and flips it up and into his hand.

"Next Due to Wind-Up Factory's Effect I add Wind-Up Shark to my hand" I show him the card before adding it to my hand. "With this I end my turn" I announce. I look to see 10 Minutes Left.

"It's My Turn! DRAW!" Ukyo yells out drawing his card. "Terabyte's effect activates, I use an overlay Unit to gain control of Wind-Up Snail" He announces detaching the last overlay unit as Snail goes to his side of the field.

"That's the last overlay unit" I mutter to myself.

"The Conditions for my Perfect victory have been set." Ukyo tells us.

"What/Nani" We all say.

"Trap Card Open: **Bug Switch**! Ukyo Announces. "When Bugman X, Y and Z are in my Graveyard, I can switch my Defense Position Monster into Attack Mode" He announces as Terabyte switches to attack mode. (**Atk: 0**) "In order to Special Summon **Super Bugman** in Face-Up Defense Mode!" he announces as his monster appears. (**Super Bugman, Level 4, 3000 Def**)

"Whew" Yuma Breaths out "I thought Ven would be in trouble, but it's in defense Mode."

"You really thought I'd do something so pointless?" Ukyo says in response to Yuma. "I activate Super Bugman's Monster Effect, when this card is in Face-Up Defense Mode, I can switch the Attack Points of all Attack Position Monsters with their Defense Points." Ukyo Announces. "Terabyte holds 2900 Defense Points Thus, Terabyte's Attack Power becomes 2900!" he explains as its attack raises. (**0-2900 Atk**).

"It's got enough to get Over Ven's Monster" Yuma mutters.

"I proceed to Attack" Ukyo announces. "Go Terabyte, Attack Wind-Up Zenmaines" he declares as his attack hits my Monster.

"Zenmaines' Monster Effect" I yell out. "By detaching an Overlay Unit I prevent its destruction, I explain as I pull Hunter from Under Zenmaines.

"Yay, he dodged it" Kotori cheers out.

"That's not good" Takashi says"

"Huh, why not" Kotori Questions.

"Ven-Kun can only block one attack next turn." Takashi Explains.

I mentally smirk at that.

"I set one card in reverse, ending my turn!" Ukyo announces as his card materializes face down and Snail Returns to my side.

"Wind-Up Zenmaines' Monster Effect" I announce "During the End Phase of the Turn I use its effect I target one card on the field and destroy it"

"WHAT?!" Ukyo yells out in panic.

"The Card I choose is Wind-Up Snail" I announce as My Monster is destroyed.

"Huh, why didn't you destroy his set card or Number?" Astral Questions

"Don't Worry I have a Plan" I assure him.

"You've played well so far, so I'll trust you" Astral tells me.

"Thanks Astral" I tell Him. "Next Since a Wind-Up used their effect I add Wind-Up Soldier to my Hand due to factory's effect"

"It would appear that the next turn will bring this match to a close!" Ukyo tells me.

I look to see five minutes left. I close my eyes. "You know, I thought being a Number Holder you would give me an exciting duel" I tell Ukyo

"What?!" Ukyo Growls out.

"Your strategy is weak and basic. It's too simple" I tell him

"This is the basis of my perfection" Ukyo Growls out. "I will prove that on my next turn"

"There won't BE a next Turn!" I tell him.

"Huh, what are you talking about?" He asks in question.

"That's right this is the FINAL TURN!" I yell out

"F-Final Turn?!" Everyone yells out in shock.

"My Turn, DRAW!" I yell out. "YES!" I mentally yell as I got the final card needed with three minutes Left on the clock.

"First I set a Card in reverse." I say as the card appears face down. Next I summon Wind-Up Magician to the Field." I declare as the toy magician appears on the field. "Next since I summoned a Wind-Up Monster by Revealing **Wind-Up Shark** in my hand I can special summon it to my field." I explain as the Toy Shark bursts through the ground. (**Wind-Up Shark, Level 4, 1500 Atk**) "Since A Wind-Up Activated Their Effect I use Magician's effect to Special Summon **Wind-Up Soldier** from my deck. **(Wind-Up Soldier, Level 4, 1800 Atk, 1200 Def.**)

"Three Level 4 Monsters" Yuma Comments.

"IT'S PLAYTIME!" I yell out my catchphrase "I Overlay My Level 4 Wind-Up Magician and Wind-Up Shark." I chant as the two monsters spiral up and enter the overlay network and I begin to chant. "Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Descend now! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! **Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon**!" The black dragon monster appears on my field. (**Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Rank 4, 2500 Attack 2000 Def**) I knew I couldn't use its effect but it was the strongest rank 4 I had currently.

"This is your Final Turn" Ukyo says laughing. "None of your Monsters come Close to mine." He says pointing out my 2000 Attack Rebellion Dragon and 1200 Attack Wind-Up Soldier.

"It's Just as I said, this is the Final Turn" I tell him as I grab the second to last card in my hand. "I Activate **Parallel Typhoon**" I announcing slamming the card into the Duel Disk. "I send one Spell or Trap Card I control to the Graveyard." I place my set card in the grave. "To destroy 1 card on the field, I destroy Super Bugman" I announces at the winds tear Ukyo's monster to shreds.

"Oh No!" Ukyo Yells out "Terabyte has 0 Attack, my perfect dueling will be ruined" he complains as Dark Rebellion and Wind-Up Soldier go back to their normal attacks.

"Next Wind-Up Soldier's Monster Effect, Just once while this card is face up on the field I can raise its Level to 5 and it's Attack power to 2300. (**1800-2200) **"BATTLE!" I yell out. "Wind-Up Soldier Attacks Terabyte, It may not be destroyed by you still take damage" I declare as my monster punches Terabyte. (**Ukyo: 4000-1800**)

"I TOLD YOU" I would have a perfect Victory." Ukyo practically growls out "Trap Card, Damage Vaccine Omega Max" He announces as his card slips up. "When I receive Life Damage I recover life by the amount I lost" He explains as the glow begins to cover his body.

"Your dueling is weak, I can't feel anything from it" I tell him.

"What?" Ukyo hisses out.

"From my Graveyard I activate the continuous Magic Phantom Des Spear"' I announce.

"A Continuous Magic from the Graveyard?!" Astral comments in shock.

"W-When did that card get into the Grave" Ukyo questions.

"The card I sent to the grave for Parallel Typhoon" I tell them. "When my opponent activates a trap card, by banishing this card from the grave I negate the activation of the trap card and destroy it, then my opponent takes 100 life points of damage.

"I-Impossible!" Ukyo yells out as his card is destroyed.

"Now feel the sting of a real duel" I yell as the spear fires out and pierces Ukyo's body and his life drops by 100. (**Ukyo-1800-1700**)

"Now Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, End This Duel" I say pointing at Terabyte "Revolt of the lightening, Disobey" I yell out as my dragon pierces the Number with its fangs.

"Play time's over." I say as Ukyo is sent flying. (**Ukyo: 1700-0**) (**Ventus: WIN!**)

"He Won, Ven Won" Kotori cheers.

"What a brilliant victory" Takashi cheers dancing around with Kotori, I feel a snarl escape my lips.

"You won, WON!" Yuma cheers. "You brought it to 'em" he yells in happiness.

"Calm down Yuma, your acting like you won" I say with a laugh.

My Pendent suddenly begins to glow softly. "Nani?" I question aloud at the phenomenon. The glow increases and a card lifts out of Ukyo's body and into my hand. I look to see its Number 34.

"How did you do that?" Astral questions me.

I shrug "your guess is as good as mine" I tell him holding up the Regnant's Symbol "I don't know what this thing does either, Here this is yours" I say Holding out the Number.

"Thanks" Astral says taking it. "This is another of the cards holding my scattered memories" He comments to himself, before I see him zone out. I decided to leave him to his thoughts. I walked over to Kotori who was trying to wake up Ukyo.

"Sensei, Sensei, Sensei!" Kotori says trying to shake Ukyo awake.

"Wh-what was I doing? Ukyo questions as he awakes.

"Sensei, you have to hurry up and stop the virus bomb!" Yuma begs him

"Virus bomb?" Ukyo asks in confusion. "It's not use. I can't stop it, I don't have the deactivation switch" Ukyo tells us.

"Say what?!" Yuma gasps in shock. "Then that means that the city…"

"Three, Two, One" A computerized voice counts down as everyone is cowering in fear. I put a calm hand on Kotori's shoulder.

"The city's about to go into a huge panic!" Yuma says freaking out.

"It's all over!" Takashi Yells

"What's all this about a "huge panic"?" Ukyo questions us.

I look over at him. "Their talking about your projects side effects yesterday"

"Didn't you hack into the city's computers to try and plunge the city into a state of mass panic Sensei?!" Yuma questions Ukyo before registering what I said. "Project?"

"Why would I do something so terrifying?" Ukyo asks in shock.

"Nothing happened." Kotori Notes.

"I confess to causing a bit of trouble for the city while making preparations" Ukyo says sheepishly.

"S-So you weren't making a virus bomb?" Yuma asks him.

"Okay, it's ready." Ukyo says with a smile as a building in the short distance lights up. "It's perfect, Kids, try looking into the sky with you D-Gazers on." He tells us. I still had mine on from the duel so I looked up into the sky.

"Look at the sky with our D-Gazers on?" Yuma questions as he puts his on.

A Giant Bugman appears in the sky.

"Is that Bugman?!" Yuma asks in shock.

"A GIANT BUGMAN!" Everyone yells out except for me and Ukyo making me wince a bit.

"I came to realize coincidently, the night view in this city happens to make up the matrix code." Ukyo tells us.

"And that responds with our D-gazer's and materializes Bugman" I comment.

Ukyo Nods. "But the code was incomplete, because of the light in that building down there." He tells us.

"So the perfection you were talking about was putting light on that building?!" Yuma asks in shock.

"Sure Was" Ukyo says making Yuma, Takashi, and Kotori do a small anime fall.

"Sensei" Yuma Groans.

I laugh at the scene.

"Here Yuma-Kun" I look over to see Takashi holding out a card to Yuma, I walk over to him and see its Bugman.

"This is the Bugman card?" Yuma Questions to Takashi.

"Read it Over" Takashi tells Yuma.

"Bugman, An electrical fairy that lives off of the other bugs. It becomes extremely powerful because it lives off its bug friends. It's said that those who witness its full moon-like appearance may forever live in happiness." I recite from memory at what Ukyo had told up earlier as I stand next to Kotori to watch the fireworks display I felt her lean into my shoulder a bit. I blushed at the contact but didn't say anything.

"In summary, Sensei just wanted all of us to live forever in happiness." Takashi comments.

I hear Astral make his seventh observation but decided to just let him be and enjoy the fireworks, I could always ask him for it later.

-Zexal-

(1) Unrecognized Genius, Crouching Dragon, Young Phoenix

(2) Weak Goose


	5. Chapter 5: The Other Side!

AN: Hello Everyone and welcome to the next chapter of The Emperor's Regnant, this time I take a shot at an OC Duelist, hope you all enjoy it.

**Chapter 5: The Other Side Where the Other Side of the Duel is Read!**

The Next Day Yuma and I were at the local card shop, I had realized that my duel with Ukyo was pure dumb luck that I won and I needed to focus less on defensive in my deck and add more offensive methods into my duel strategy. I had managed to pick up a few cards that would let my implement a burn strategy and get rid of the numbers outside of battle.

"Hey, you almost done?" Yuma asks me.

"Yup" I say with a nod as I purchase the cards, "shall we head home?"

"Yeah it's getting late" Yuma replies.

I nod and we begin to walk home. "Hey Yuma, you finished that errand for Akari right?" I ask him,

"Ahh Crap, I completely forgot about that errand Sis ask for!" Yuma yells out as he takes of running.

Astral materializes out of the Key to see what's going on. I notice his gaze look towards something, I look in the direction Astral is looking to see a small boy in the year 1 heartland uniform with a small hat and green glasses, as I look closer I can see a small dark aura around him but it felt different from the Numbers.

"You feel that?" I whisper to Astral

"Yeah" Astral Replies looking back at the boy. "That Boy" he mutters to himself.

"Let's go catch up to Yuma" I tell Astral getting a nod from him as we run to catch up.

Luckily we managed to get Akari's errand done in time, I knew if we missed it she would have yelled at both of us. Yuma and I got ready for bed and bid each other good night and went to our respective rooms. I opened my desk drawer and pulled out the blank Number 26 Card. I pulled out a deck box I bought from the store today. I slid the Number into the deck Box and hid that in the back of the drawer before turning off the light to go to sleep.

-Zexal-

The Next day at school Yuma was still trying to explain the existence of Astral to Tetsuo.

"Astral?" Tetsuo questions Yuma. I knew I had told Tetsuo about Astral but I figured since he can't see Astral he didn't really believe us.

"That's what this guy wants to be called." Yuma tells Tetsuo pointing at Astral.

"I'm pretty sure almost everyone would want to be called by their name" I refute to Yuma.

"This guy here?" Tetsuo questions looking in the opposite direction of Astral.

"Aren't you guys always calling him a ghost?" Yuma asks Tetsuo and Kotori.

"Mostly just Tetsuo" I tell Yuma "Kotori knows his name is Astral."

"I am not a ghost, I am Astral, who came from the Astral World" Yuma says in a mocking tone of Astral.

I grab Yuma's Ear and pull on it. "Don't mock Astral he's a nice friend" I tell him.

"Ow, Ow, OW" Yuma groans out "okay, okay I will now please let go"

"Good" I say with a smile letting him go

"This guy's been really bossy and annoying since yesterday!" Yuma complains to the others.

"It's not his fault you're a bad duelist Toma." I say with Mirth.

"YUMA, it's Y-U-M-A YUMA" Yuma yells out.

"No need to spell it out" I say teasing him I hear a slight giggle from Kotori.

"I'm not "This Guy" I'm Astral!" Astral says in response to Yuma's earlier comment making me burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Kotori Asks me. I whisper to her what Astral told Yuma getting her to laugh as well at Astral's Naivety.

"Ahh, I got that now" Yuma gripes out.

Yuma-Kun" A voice yells out, I look over to see bowler hat Kid run over as I didn't know his name. "Why if it isn't Yuma-Kun, Conversely" He tells Yuma.

"Ura?" I mentally Question.

"Tokunosuke" Tetsuo states. Ah so that was his name, Tokunosuke.

"What are you guys chatting about so inversely happily?" Tokunosuke asks us "Anything bad about me"

I give a raised eyebrow at that. "We never met you before, why would we be talking about you?"

"Huh?" Yuma questions.

"Well, I don't mind it either way, on the Contrary!" Tokunosuke says to Yuma, I noticed he blew me off as if I wasn't there.

"Whether good or bad, I welcome it all contrarily!" Tokunosuke tells Yuma.

"This boy is the one from yesterday" I hear Astral Comment.

"Who are you, anyways?" Yuma questions to Tokunosuke.

"Yuma, Tetsuo just said his name is Tokunosuke." I groan out.

"Oh yeah" Yuma says with a slight embarrassed blush.

"You haven't heard about me conversely?" Tokunosuke questions Yuma before turning to point dramatically. "From the outside, he's just a middle school student, on the inside, he's just a middle school student, both my inner and outer! I've achieved inner-outer harmony and they are talking about Tokunosuke Omoteura!"

"Drama queen" I mutter under my breath.

"I'm from you neighboring class" Tokunosuke tells Yuma.

"Okay…" Yuma says with a sweat drop.

"Actually, I was thinking giving this to you, Yuma-Kun" Tokunosuke says reaching into his pocket and pulling out a card. "Baby Tragon, An Xyz Monster, arguably!" he says holding out the Xyz monster to Yuma.

"Xyz monster!?" Yuma yells out in happiness.

"This is to thank you for conversely defeating Shark!" Tokunosuke tells Yuma.

I growl at that, I hated when people called Shark a bully.

"I've always suffered contrarily a lot thanks to that guy" Tokunosuke tells Yuma, I could tell that he was lying. "Here's a proof to our friendship." He tells Yuma about the card.

Proof of our friendship, is it really okay for me to take this?" Yuma Questions.

I see the dark aura reappear around Tokunosuke.

"What is that, there's something bizarre overflowing from his body." Astral questions to himself.

"No need to be so questionably polite, go on and take it no." Tokunosuke tells Yuma, I notice a malevolent look on his face so I decided to get Yuma away before something happened.

"In that case don't mind if I do" Yuma says reaching out for the card.

I grab Yuma by the color of his shirt "Sorry, we have to get to class" I tell Tokunosuke as I drag Yuma off who is complaining about his Xyz Monster.

"Plus it's your turn to water the flowers" Kotori tells Yuma catching on to what I'm doing.

"If you don't hurry up, you won't make it on time!" Tetsuo adds on.

"H-Hey, but the card!" Yuma gripes out, as we head into the school

-Zexal-

"You can't just accept Tokunosuke's card like that" Kotori tells Yuma.

"But why?" Yuma questions.

"Yuma!" I tell him in a serious voice gaining his attention. "There's an expression, there's no such thing as a free gift"

"We were in the same class as him in Elementary School, so we know, that guy's action always has some hidden motives." Tetsuo tells us.

"Ven is right as well about the gift saying" Kotori tells Yuma.

"You need to be careful" I tell Yuma.

"Hidden, what are you guys saying?" Yuma questions" He doesn't look like that kind of person" he tells us.

"Exactly Yuma, you can't judge a book by its cover" I tell him.

"Ahh, it will be alright" Yuma tells me making me face palm at his naivety. I really hoped it didn't come back to bite him one day.

-Zexal-

The four of us went to class and took our seats. Ukyo soon began his lecture.

"Given this example, what do you think the correct answer is?" Ukyo asks the class, I look over to see Yuma fast asleep. I just groaned and let him sleep, it's not my job to make sure he went to bed on time.

-Zexal—

Class went by pretty fast. "That was a great nap" Yuma states yawning as we walk out of the classroom.

"Yuma-Kun" Tokunosuke says standing outside the door holding the card out. I grab Yuma by the ear and begin to drag him off.

I let Yuma go when we were far enough away. "You need to be careful" I tell him.

A bit later I see Tetsuo burst from the boy's bathroom dragging Yuma behind him. I give a slight chuckle at the scene.

"HEY!" Yuma yells out in protest.

"Sheash he is desperate" I tell Kotori about Tokunosuke as we are walking along later.

"Yeah" Kotori tells me before seeing Tokunosuke at it again. She quickly grabs Yuma and drags him off.

"You're leaving yourself wide open" Kotori scolds Yuma

"Aren't you guys being a little too distrusting?" Yuma questions

"No" I say with a shake of my head "it's you who's being too trusting of someone you just met."

"Ahh your too worried Ven, just relax he's a nice guy you'll see" Yuma tells me.

"Baka" I mutter under my breath.

I noticed that after that Tokunosuke's advances had stopped, I just hopped nothing bad happened, because I knew he didn't look like the kind of guy to give up.

-Zexal-

The rest of the school day went by fast and soon we arrived Home.

"Yuma, you didn't go out and play Duel Monsters, did you?" Akari Questions Yuma as soon as we go home. I had no idea why she was so against him playing Duel Monsters but not me.

"Eh, I-I never did anything like that" Yuma stutters out.

"Then what is this?" Akari asks holding out an envelope. She tosses it to Yuma and he catches it.

"To King of Duels, Yuma-Sama from Yuma-Sama's big fan" Yuma reads off the envelope as Astral appears out of the key. "Eh! You're kidding, A Fan Letter?!" Yuma yells out in shock.

Akari give Yuma a death glare. "Oh no!" Yuma yells out running off.

"Yuma" Akari calls after him but falls on deaf ears "Geez, I already told him like that no Duels of any sort allowed."

"You knew about this didn't you Ven?" She questions me.

I took my right pinky finger and stuck it up my nose and dug around for a bit. "And if I did?" I ask in a bored tone.

"For Yuma, those duels are by no means just regular duels, that's why" Akari explains with a slightly disgusted look at my action.

I feel shock surge through my body. "Did Akari know about Astral and the Numbers?" I mentally question or was it something else. "What do you mean?" I ask her.

Akari looks at me for a bit. "It's nothing" she says dropping the conversation.

"Whatever." I say with a shrug as I go into the kitchen to grab a drink.

I was drinking my ice tea when I heard Yuma yell out. "All right I got an Xyz Monster" I frown at that, Tokunosuke wanted to give Yuma an Xyz all day and now Yuma suddenly gets one, It could be just a coincidence, but you should never ignore a coincidence unless you busy, in which case you should always ignore a coincidence.

I went up to my room and pulled out all the new cards I bought last night and my deck and began to make the appropriate changes to my deck.

-Zexal—

The next day Yuma and I were walking to class when Takashi came up to us.

"Yuma-Kun!" Takashi says with Anger. "I didn't think of you as that type of person, but I can't believe you're doing this behind our backs." he tells Yuma as I notice a crowed behind him.

"Anyone one tell us clueless ones what's going on?" I ask him.

"Behind your back? Am I up to anything?" Yuma questions Takashi.

"Are you up to anything?!" Takashi growls out. "Even being shameless has its boundaries"

"What the HELL, are you even TALKING About?!" I Growl out making everyone flinch.

"E-Everyone's got these anonymous photo on their mobiles!" Takashi tells us after regaining himself and everyone holds up their Duel disk or D-Gazers. "To summarize, we know what you've been up to, Destroying the Flowers, causing trouble for out teacher, cheating on your tests, and then, you even ate Taichi's lunch, and replaced it with a from." He lists out.

"And like the Morons you are you all believed it without hearing Yuma's Side, Fan Tucking Fastic way of showing what nimrods you all are, Bravo very well done!" I tell the crowed with very slow sarcastic claps.

"When Taichi noticed this, he took the day off from school!" Takashi tells Yuma"

"EH?! That Taichi was…" Yuma yells out in shock before growling. "Tch, I would never do anything like that!"

"That's exactly what I said" I hear someone yell out. I look over to see Kotori and Tetsuo. I give them a wave hello.

"Morning Ven" Kotori tells me before turning back to the others. "There's gotta be a misunderstanding here!"

"Yuma isn't a shady guy on the inside at all!" Tetsuo tells the class.

"Just Clueless" I add on

"You three, although I can understand that you want to support Yuma-kun, there's some reaaally solid evidence here." Takashi tells us.

"Heh yes, because Photo shopping something is Soooooo Hard" I bite out sarcastically. "Seriously I was sitting next to Kotori at that test and I didn't see Yuma cheat once, hell he wasn't even awake!"

"Yuma-Kun, from now on we're strangers" Takashi tells Yuma. "Anyway, everyone, let's go" he tells the crowed.

"Ah, W-wait a minute!" Yuma yells out as everyone leaves.

"Yuma…" I say worried for my little brother

"By associating yourselves with Yuma-Kun, nothing good will come from it" Takashi tells us as he goes to take his seat. I wanted so badly to punch him but suppressed the urge.

"Like I said, it wasn't me" Yuma cries out. I noticed Tokunosuke out of my peripheral vision behind Yuma, Everything clicked. "Tokunosuke" I growl out.

Throughout the day everyone kept ignoring Yuma and shunning him. It was really starting to piss me off that everyone would believe something so stupid, they were just sheep. Once class had ended and we had gone home to change to our casual wear. I noticed Yuma run out of the house. I decided not to follow him as I knew he needed Space, so I went to the park to find some duelists and with luck a Number or two.

-Zexal-

I was walking through the park with my D-Gazer on so I could see the duel's easier and looked around for an opponent.

"Auughhhhh" I hear someone yell out, I ran towards the source to find a guy laying on the ground across from him was a young teen that has a similar dress sense to shark.

"Who are you" I ask him as I help the fallen duelist up.

"I am Regi Tsumi, Shark-Sama's Greatest Fan" he replies "I will help Shark-Sama Reach the top like he is meant to be" he tells us, I notice a **42** Flash behind his ear.

"Numbers!" I gasp out, before making a decision. "Duel ME!" I yell out.

"Huh, why should I?" Regi questions me.

"Because I'm a stepping stone on the path to your pathetic loser shark's path." I say insulting my friend hurt but I needed to bait him into a duel.

"How Dare You insult Shark-Sama" Regi hisses out. "Fine you have a duel."

"Let's go" I say grabbing my duel disk from my pocket and sliding it onto my wrist. "**Duel Disk-Set**" "**D-Gazer-Set**" I say activating the D-Gazer on my face. "Duel Target-Lock on!"

"**AR-Vision Link Established" A Computerized Voice Says.**

"DUEL!" Regi and I yell out. (**Ventus: 4000**) (**Regi: 4000**)

"I'll start off!" I announced. "DRAW!" I yell out as I look at my hand which contained 2 copies of Galaxy Wave, Wind-up factory, Wind-Up Dog, Wind-Up Shark and the newly drawn Half Unbreak. "First I activate Three Continuous Spells" I announced as I activated the 2 **Galaxy Wave**'s and Wind-Up Factory. "Next I summon Wind-Up Dog (**Wind-Up Dog, Level 3, 1200 Attack**)" I announce as I place the Monster in the card zone, the toy dog appearing. "Next Since I Normal Summoned a Wind-Up Monster I can special summon Wind-up Shark from my hand. (**Wind-Up Shark, Level 4, 1500 Attack**)" I announce as the toy shark appears on the field. "Further, since a Wind-Up activated its effect the Factory activates and lets me add a Wind-Up to my Hand." A card slides out of the deck and I reveal a second Wind-Up Shark. "I activate Wind-Up Shark's monster effect. Each Turn I can raise or Lower its Level by 1, I lower his Level to 3. I Overlay my Level 3 Wind-Up Dog and Shark. With these two Level Tree Monsters I construct the Overlay Network. Oh Defender of the Children's Dreams. Now Come forth from the deepest depths of Imagination and protect those who would lead this world to a new Era. XYZ SHOUKAN! Advance Forth and Protect, Rank 3 Wind-Up Zenmaines" I chant out as my monster appears on the field. "Since I Xyz Summoned a Monster you take 500 points of Damage for Galaxy Wave, since I control 2 you take 1000. (**Wind-Up Zenmaines, Rank 3, 2100 Defense**)

"Nani" Regi yells out as his life drops by 1000. (**Regi: 3000**)

"I set 1 card and end my turn" I announce setting the card.

"Your struggle is useless, just like everyone else you will fall and allow Shark-sama to raise to the top." Regi tells me. "My Turn, Draw!" He announces drawing his Card.

"I Summon out **Rescue Rabbit**" Regi announced as a small rabbit appears on the field. (**Rescue Rabbit, Level 4, 300 Attack**) "I activate its Monster Effect, by banishing this card I can Special Summon Two Level 4 or Lower Normal Monsters from my Deck." He explains as his Rabbit disappears and two portals open on the field and two fish like Monsters appear. "Come Forth **Space Mambo.**" (**Space Mambo, Level 4, 1700 Attack**) "Next I overlay my 2 Level 4 Space Mambo." Regi announces as his Monsters turn into blue lights and spiral up into the Air and enter the Red overlay network. "With these Two Monster's I construct the Overlay Network" Regi Chants. "Xyz Summon, Come forth **Bahamut Shark**." (**Bahamut Shark, Rank 4, 2600**)

"An Xyz Summon right off the Bat? He's gonna be tough" I comment to myself.

"Next, by detaching 2 Overlay Units from Bahamut Shark I special Summon **Xyz Remora."** (**Xyz Remora, Level 4, 800 Attack**) "Since I successfully special summoned this monster, I can target 2 Fish Monsters in my Grave and revive them, Resurrect Space Mambo" Regi yells out as his monsters reappear. "Next I overlay Xyz Remora and Space Mambo, Xyz Summon Bahamut Shark" Regi announces as he summons his second Bahamut Shark.

"This is gonna be hard" I think to myself

"I activate Bahamut Shark's Monster Effect" Regi announces as Bahamut eats an overlay Unit. "by detaching an overlay Unit I can special Summon a Rank 3 or Lower Water Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck" The Number Mark begins to pulse violently and the Number Miasma begins to flow.

"Here it come, the Numbers" I say steadying myself.

"Appear Now, **Number 47: Nightmare Shark**" Regi announces Summoning His Number. (**Number 47 Nightmare Shark, Rank 3, 2000 Attack**)

"Why would he summon it without overlay units?" I question to myself.

"Number 47's Monster Effect." Regi yells out. "When this card is Special Summoned I can take a Level 3 Water from my Hand and attach it as an Xyz Material to this card, I attach Big Jaws from my hand as an Overlay Unit" He announces as he attaches the Monster to Bahamut Shark.

"So he had this in response" I comment to myself.

"From my Hand I activate the Magic card **Gift of the Martyr**" Regi Announces as his spell card appears on the field. "By releasing the 2600 Bahamut Shark with no overlay Units I give Nightmare Shark the attack of the tribute monster." Bahamut Shark is enveloped in light and it enters Nightmare Shark as its attack raises up to 4600"

"Thank goodness my Monster is in Defense" I tell myself.

"Nightmare Sharks Monster Effect" Regi announces. "By detaching an Overlay Unit, one Water monster can attack my Opponent Directly" he announces. "I choose Nightmare Shark."

"NANI?!" I yell out in shock that I was about to be attack directly for 4600"

"However, other monsters I control cannot attack the turn I use this effect, but that will not be a problem. BATTLE! Nightmare Shark Attack that weakling directly!" Regi yells out.

"Trap Card Open!" I yell out in a panic.

"What?!" Regi yells in slight panic.

"**Half Unbreak**! I say as my card flips face up, I target a monster on the field. It cannot be destroyed by battle and all damage I take involving battles from that Monster is halved. I target Nightmare Shark." I announce as the bubble get in the way of its attack and I'm sent flying. (**Ven: 1700) **"Whew, that was close" I say dusting myself off.

"Tchh, you were supposed to fall like everyone else so that Shark-Sama can raise to his rightful place as ruler in this sea of duelists." Regi bites out the Number Miasma glowing. "I set 1 card and End my Turn" he announces.

I gasp for breath a bit the attack having taken a bit out of me. "My turn, DRAW!" I yell out pulling my card from the deck. I looked at the Wind-Up Shark and the New Conduction Train Signal Red. I considered my options and went with one. "I summon Wind-Up Shark" I say as the Toy Shark Monster Appears on the field. "I use his ability to lower his Level to 3, next since a Wind-Up used its effect I use factory to add Wind-Up Rat to my hand. "With this I end my turn."

"My Turn DRAW!" Regi yells out. "Trap card Open **Xyz Reborn**" He announces. "I revive an Xyz Monster from my Graveyard and attach this card as an Xyz Material, Revive Bahamut Shark" The Monster appears from the grave portal and the trap card turns into an overlay unit and begins to orbit the newly revived Bahamut Shark.

"Tchh, so he had planned for his monsters release by martyr" I comment.

"Battle!" Regi Yells out. "Nightmare Shark attack that wanna be toy" he says declaring his attack on Wind-up Shark.

"Sorry, Wind-Up Shark" I tell it as it is shredded to pieces and my life drops by 500 (**Ven: 1200**)

"Next Bahamut Shark Attack Wind-Up Zenmaines!" Regi yells out as his Monster begins to tear into Zenmains.

"Zenmaines' Monster Effect" I yell out. "If this monster would be destroyed I can detach an Overlay Unit to negate that Destruction" I announce pulling off the overlay unit.

"I still have another attack Go Bahamut Shark attack Wind-Up Zenmaines" Regi announces as his second bahamut shark makes its attack.

"I detach another overlay unit to protect Zenmaines." I yell out detaching the last overlay unit.

"But now you now longer have a way to protect your monsters, Turn End" Regi says in confidence.

"At the End of the turn Zenmaines activated its effect I can destroy a card on your field. I destroy your Bahamut Shark." I announces as his monster is destroyed.

"It matters not, my victory is assured" Regi says with a shrug.

"Next since a Wind-Up used its effect I add Wind-Up Soldier to my hand due to Factory's Effect." I say adding the Card to my hand. "My Turn, DRAW!" I yell out drawing my card. "Yes" I mentally cheer when I see Monster Reborn. "I..." I begin to say before my D-Gazer Rings. I answer it to see Kotori. "Hey Kotori, What's up?" I ask her seeing the concerned look on her face.

"Yuma is Dueling Tokunosuke" Kotori tells me over the D-Gazer.

"WHAT?!" I yell out in shock. "How did this happen?"

"It must have been because of all the fake photo's making everyone push Yuma away." Kotori tells me.

"I knew it" I comment about the fake photos "Where are you?" I ask her

"We're at the Mall" Kotori tells me.

"Got it, I'll be over as soon as I'm done with this duel" I tell her before Hanging Up.

"I summon Wind-Up Soldier (**Wind-Up Soldier, Level 4, 1800 Attack**)" I announce as my monster appears on the field. "Next I activate **Monster Reborn**" to resurrect Wind-Up Shark. I activate Wind-Up Soldier's Effect Once While Face Up on the Field I can Raise its Level to 5 and attack to 2200" The Toy Soldier grows a bit bigger. "Next since a Wind-Up used its effect Factory adds Wind-Up Magician to my Hand." I say adding the card to my hand as it pops out of the deck. "Next I activate Wind-Up Shark's effect to raise its level to 5, I overlay my Level 5 Wind-Up Soldier and Level 5 Wind-Up Shark. With These Two Level 5 Monsters I construct the Overlay Network!" I Chant. "Xyz Summon! Eradicate **Adreus, Keeper of Armageddon**" (**Adreus, Keeper of Armageddon, Rank 5, 2600 Attack**) " Since I performed an Xyz Summon successfully my two Galaxy Waves activate dealing you 1000 points of damage."

"Tch" Regi growls out in annoyance as his life drops. (**Regi: 2000)**

I activate Adreus' Monster Effect" I announce. "Once Per Turn I can detach an Overlay Unit to destroy one Face-Up Card on the Field. I remove an Xyz Material To Destroy final Bahamut Sharks." I detach an Xyz Material as it flies into Adreus' red sword and it grows to gigantic size and Cleves the monster in two.

"Useless Struggle, perfect for a little fish like you" Regi Taunts

I just ignore it. "Battle! Adrues Attack's Space Mambo" Adreus Skewers the Fish and begins to cut it into a sushi plate and eat it as regi's life drops. (**Regi: 1100)** "Turn End." I announce not having any more plays currently.

"My…TURN!" Regi yells out drawing his card. Smirking at his Draw. "I activate **Overlay Regenerate**" He announces Activating his Card. "This Card Becomes an Xyz Material for an Xyz Monster, I attach it to Nightmare Shark." The Spell Turns into an Overlay Unit and begins orbiting it.

"Shit" I curse to myself.

"I activate Nightmare Sharks Effect" Regi yells out "Once per turn, By Detaching an Overlay Unit a Water Monster can attack directly, naturally I choose my Number." He announces as his number devours the overlay Unit "Battle! Nightmare Shark attack the opponent directly! PERISH!" He yells out in a frenzied tone

I quickly grab a card from my hand "I activate the effect of **Construction Train Signal Red** from my Hand, when my opponent targets me for an attack I can special Summon this card to the field and redirect the attack to that monster, further more Red isn't destroyed by that battle." I explain as the train intercepts the attack. (**Construction Train Signal Red, Level 3 1300 Def**)

"You Bastard!" Regi Yells as the Number miasma begins pulsing in fury. "You were supposed to lose! I set 2 cards face down and End my turn."

"I'll free you of your burden soon." I silently tell Regi "It's my Turn, DRAW!" I yell out drawing my card. "I Summon Wind-Up Rat. (**Wind-Up Rat, Level 3, 600 Attack**)" I announce as I summon out my Toy Rat. "I activate its Monster Effect, by turning his into Defense Mode I can Target a Wind-Up Monster in my Grave and Special Summon it. Revive Wind-Up Soldier" I announce as the green toy soldier appears from the graveyard. "Next I use Adreus as an Xyz Material To Rebuild the Overlay Network."

"An Xyz Monster as Material for an Xyz Summon" Regi asks in shock.

"Xyz Summon!" I yell out "Come forth **Gaia Dragon, The Thunder Charger**!" (**Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger, Rank 7, 2600 Attack**) "Since I Xyz summoned you Take 1000 Points of Damage.

"Trap Card Open Barrel behind the Door" Regi announces. "Due to this Trap card's effect you take the Damage I would have taken"

"NANI?!" I yell out in shock as my life drops by 1000. (**Ven: 200**) I looked at the field, I has Gaia Dragon, Soldier, A Rat that used its effect, Signal Red and a Defense Position Zenmaines on my Field and he had one set card his number and no cards in hand, I decided to risk it. "I overlay my Level 3 Wind-Up Rat and Signal Red, With These Two Monsters I build the Overlay Network." I chant out. "Xyz Summon! Come Forth **Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity**. (**Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity, Rank 3 1500 Def**) "Since I xyz Summoned you take 1000 from the Galaxy Waves." I say hoping the damage goes through.

"Continuous Trap, **Neptune's Guard** Activate" Regi yells out in a rage tinted tone. "As long as this card if Face-Up all Effect Damage I take is halved. (**Regi: 600**)

"This is the end, BATTLE! Gaia Dragon Attack Number 47!" I yell out declaring my attack.

"I activate the other effect of my trap, by sending it to the grave all battle damage involving a Shark Xyz Monster is halved for the rest of this turn." Regi yells out in panic as he slides his trap into the grave. (**Regi: 300)**

"I Activate Wind-Up Zenmaity's Effect" I announce "by Detaching an Xyz Material I can Special Summon a Wind-Up Monster from my Deck or hand" I announce as my monster absorbs the overlay unit. "Come out Wind-Up Magician" I say placing magician on the duel disk from my hand, Next I overlay My Level 4 Wind-Up Magician and Soldier, With These Two Monster's I build the Overlay Network." I Chant out "Xyz Summon! Come out **Maestroke the Symphony Djinn**. (**Maestroke the Symphony Djinn, Rank 4, 1800 Attack**) "Next since I xyz Summoned you Take 1000 Points of Damage.

"IM-IMPOSSIBLE!" Regi yells out as the blast from the shockwave sends him flying and his life drops down by 600 to 0. (**Regi: 0**) (**Ven: WIN**)

I take off my D-Gazer Panting from the hard fight. "That was tough" I comment to myself before holding out my hand, the Regnant's symbol glows a bit before the Number flies out of Regi's body and Into my hand. "Number 47 Nightmare Shark" I say to myself before putting the Number away in my deck box. I look over to see Regi begin to stir, I know he's gonna be okay so I left him. I had to hurry to the mall to make sure my Brother was okay.

-Zexal-

Fanmade Cards:

Neptune's Guard, Continuous Trap: Activate only if you control a Face-Up Shark Xyz Monster, All Effect Damage you take is halved. If a Shark Xyz Monster you Control is involved in a battle you can send this card to the graveyard; Half all battle damage from battles Involving that monster until the end of this turn. If you don't control a face-up Shark Xyz Monster Destroy this card.


	6. Chapter 6: Treacherous Numbers

Couple of quick things to address before we begin;

First, a HUGE shout-out to OPFan37, huge thanks for recommending my work to others out there. It means a lot to me that more popular writers are interested in my work. If you haven't ever ready any of his stuff I highly recommend it.

Second, If you haven't already go check out the Poll on my profile to vote on wither Yuma or Ven will tag with Shark against Rikuo and Kaio and the new Poll of wither Kotori should use a Fairy or a Winged Beast Deck. (The first one will run until May 1st and the second until around May 16)

Third and finally, To the Guest to Reviewed " Ventus X Kotori M./Tori M. c rio became a galaxy eyes" All I have to say it, WHAT?!

Disclaimer: I own Nothing, Only Ventus and any original cards I may end up making.

**Chapter 6: Treacherous Numbers and A Grand Feast of Justice**

I tore through the streets of Heartland running as fast as I could toward the mall. "Hang on Yuma" I mutter to myself as I push my body to run faster. I hopped over various railings and launched myself over a Litterbot yelling sorry to it as I continued to Dash toward the Mall. I made it there in about 5 minutes and put my D-Gazer on as I entered the Mall. I noticed Kotori and Tetsuo on the lower levels and went down to their level.

"Yuma, Kotori, Tetsuo" I yell out running over to them.

"Ven!" Yuma and Kotori exclaim in surprise and happiness respectively.

"Geez Toma" I say with a smirk "You really can't keep out of trouble unless I'm there" I say in a teasing tone, before looking at the current duel Situation. (**Tokunosuke: 2500**) (**Yuma: 300**) Yuma Had **Baby Tiragon** on his field while Tokunosuke had Number 17 and Number 39. I mentally wonder how Yuma's Numbers got on his side before I see Tokunosuke's Trap Cards. (**Baby Tragon, Rank 1, 900 Attack**) (**Number 17 Leviath Dragon, Rank 3 2000 Attack) (Number 39 Aspiring Emperor Hope, Rank 4, 2500 Attack**)

"Come on Yuma, It's your Turn" Tokunosuke tells Yuma as the Number Miasma flows in a fury.

I notice Yuma struggling. "FOCUS MORON!" I yell at him. "Don't you DARE give up, you can win just believe."

"Y-Yeah" Yuma says with a focused nod. "My Turn! Draw!" Yuma yells out as he draws his card.

"Hurricane Swordsman" I mutter to myself as I look at Yuma's hand. "Perfect" I say with a smirk "If Toma can play it right, It's his Win" I say softly to Kotori.

"Looks like you didn't get the card you wanted, it doesn't matter how you feel, it's still no use." Tokunosuke taunts Yuma. "On your side of the field, you have an Xyz Monster from the bottom of the trash barrel, Rank 1 Baby Tragon, that's all"

I growl at those words, I hate arrogant People who call anything weak. I softly smile and chuckle when Baby Tragon tries to look ferocious before seeing its attack stats.

"There's nothing you can possibly do." Tokunosuke tells Yuma.

"There's no way out, isn't it…" Yuma says looking down in despair, I felt myself get annoyed a bit. "Yuma" I hear Kotori mutter.

"TOMA!" I yell out.

Yuma looks at my with an annoyed tic mark "Its YUMA Damn it" He yells out.

I point at my Eyes and make a hand motion "Focus and Observe the entire field."

"This Guy, Why Baby Tragon" Yuma asks himself looking at a blue sphere next to him. I gasp as I realize its Astral. "YUMA, Hurry up and Win" I tell him wanting to free Astral as soon as possible.

"Alright I see it now" Yuma says as he grasps the card in his hand. "Let's go, Baby Tragon" he tells the xyz monster gaining the monsters attention. "I summon **Needle Swordsman**" Yuma declares as the tiny monster appears in a whirlwind. **(Needle Swordsman, Level 1, 300**)

"Attack power 300, what can a card like that possibly do?" Tokunosuke asks in an unworried tone.

"It certainly can, together with Baby Tragon!" Yuma says in retort.

"The Card from the trash can?" Tokunosuke asks

I grasp my hand in a fist and hiss as Tokunosuke's words cause anger to surge through me.

"I'll Bring it to 'em" Yuma Yells out "I activate Baby Tragon's monster effect, by consuming one overlay unit, one Level 1 monster can attack directly!" He Announces as Baby Tragon eats one of its three overlay units.

"Go Needle Swordsman, Attack Tokunosuke directly!" Yuma yells out as Needle Swordsman jumps on Baby Tragon's back and they charge at Tokunosuke.

"Merely 300 points of damage, I can barely even feel it" Tokunosuke says in a carefree turn.

I mentally laugh, I knew the effect of Needle Swordsman and it was going to cause a huge shock for Tokunosuke.

"It's useless" Tokunosuke tells Yuma as Needle Swordsman pokes him in the palm while Baby Tragon is flapping furiously which makes me chuckle as Tokunosuke's life drops by 300, (**Tokunosuke:2200**)

"Alright, now I activate Needle Swordsman's monster effect!" Yuma announces as Needle Swordsman jumps of Baby Tragon's back.

"Hurricane!" Needle Swordsman yells out as it generates a giant twister.

"W-What's this" Tokunosuke questions as everyone else braces themselves against the gale. I step in front of Kotori a bit to shield her from the wind getting a soft smile of thanks from her.

"When Needle Swordsman direct attacks successfully, all of your face up Magic and Trap cards are returned to the Hand" I tell Tokunosuke.

"I wanted to tell him that" Yuma pouts.

I just did the mature thing and stuck my tongue out at him.

"All of it?!" Tokunosuke asks in shock.

"That's right" Yuma tells him. "Your cards that took away Aspiring Emperor Hope and Leviath Dragon, Since they're no longer on your field, Those two will come back to me once again!" He tells Tokunosuke as the two Traps on Tokunosuke's field are blown away and Leviath Dragon and Hope Return to Yuma.

"My Numbers, They are…" Tokunosuke mutters in despair before gasping in pain and falling down I see the marks of 17 and 39 disappear off his hand.

"Alright I got the Numbers back!" Yuma yells in happiness. The barrier surrounding Astral disappears and he stands up.

"Hey you, are you alright?" Yuma asks Astral

"You ok Astral?" I ask as well.

"Let's win." Astral tells Yuma before giving me a nod making me sigh in relief.

"Leviath Dragon, attack that face down defense position monster!" Astral Declares.

"Like I said, this is supposed to be my duel!" Yuma yells out in annoyance.

I smile, everything is back to normal again.

I see Yuma smile as well I know he's glad Astral is back as well. "Let's go, Leviath Dragon, Attack that face down defense position monster!" Yuma says commanding the dragon to attack. "Vice Stream" He yells out as the attack destroys the Bone Monkey hybrid thingy.

"Alright" Kotori and I cheer high fiving each other.

"Nice! This way there's no more defending monsters." Tetsuo says making me jump a foot in the air, I had honestly forgotten he was even there.

Yuma, Astral and I look at each other for a moment before nodding. "Aspiring Emperor, Hope, direct attack!" The Three of us yell together. "Hope Sword Slash!" The Attack sends Tokunosuke Flying as his remaining life is depleted. (**Tokunosuke: 0) (Yuma: WIN)**

"Alright, I did it." Yuma Cheers.

"He Won" Kotori says in a cheer.

"You did it Yuma" Tetsuo cheers

I walk up to him and give him my angry glare.

"V-V-Ven, It's not what you think" Yuma stutters out.

I get right up into his face before I flick his head knocking him down. "Next time think before you act" I say before holding out my hand to help up Yuma.

"Yeah" Yuma says with a nod taking my hand as I help him up.

"Well done." Astral tells Yuma. "We protected the Numbers cards."

"It's Nothing, It's not like I did it for you!" Yuma says

"Yuma, Ven" Kotori says as She and Tetsuo come over to us.

"What an awesome reversal finish" Tetsuo tells Yuma as he noogies him.

"Thanks to Baby Tragon!" Yuma tells him.

"I lost, B-But Why" I hear Tokunosuke question himself. I see Yuma walk over to him, as much as I disliked Tokunosuke for his treatment of low level monsters and tricking Yuma, I knew Yuma could free him from his darkness.

"Tokunosuke" Yuma calls to him gaining his attention. "You can have this back" he says holding out the Baby Tragon Card.

"This is…" Tokunosuke mutters

"It's your card, after all." Yuma tells him "As an exchange, don't use it for underhanded tricks anymore"

I walk up to them and nod. "Baby Tragon will be sad if you do"

Tokunosuke looks up at the two of us.

"However, you're pretty powerful!" Yuma tells him.

"I'm powerful?" Tokunosuke questions to himself.

"Yeah, especially since you're the first guy I've ever seen that used flip effects so well"

"We should call you Flip" I say jokingly before feeling disgust flow through my "Ughh No NO, that's a horrible idea, gack that name leaves a bad taste on the tongue."

"Yuma, Ven" Tokunosuke says in shock. "Hmph, I'm not falling for that, flattering me like that, what's your real intention?" He asks Yuma.

I felt sad for him, evidently he was tricked badly and it hurt him.

"Intention? There isn't one" Yuma says in confusion. "I really thought you were powerful, that's why! He tells him.

"I don't believe you" Tokunosuke retorts, before looking up at us, "Did you really mean it?" he questions.

I put my hand on Tokunosuke's shoulder and kneel down in front of him and make him look at me. "Of course we mean it Tokunosuke" looking him straight in the eye so he can see the truth

Tokunosuke's eyes water as tears build before he grasps me in a hug and begins crying into my shoulder.

"VENTUS!" Tokunosuke says crying into my shoulder.

I gently rub his back and let Tokunosuke let out his repressed emotions.

"This is the first time someone ever called me strong, everyone always called me shameless and dirty" Tokunosuke chokes out before wiping his eyes. "It's decided, you can keep the card" He tells Yuma "As a token of our friendship"

"Really?" Yuma asks in shock getting a nod from Tokunosuke.

I laugh at Yuma's weird face when he realizes the Xyz monster is really his now.

"Alright!" Yuma cheers dancing around repeating the word. "I really wanted this, Thanks a bunch, Tokunosuke!" he tells Tokunosuke

"With this, we'll become trusted bros" Yuma tells Tokunosuke as they put their hands on top of each other's. I add mine onto it as well.

"Consider me one as well" I tell them.

"Yeah" Tokunosuke says before the three of us begin laughing.

-Zexal-

Later that night Astral and I were up in Yuma's room watching the adventures of Different Dimension Esper Star Robin, It was a good show and I admit for some reason I felt a connection to the character.

"Be Quiet" Yuma Yells at the TV and Us. "Geez, people are trying to sleep here."

I give him a pout, "you're such a buzz kill Toma."

"Urusai, its late" Yuma Snaps before turning over and going back to sleep.

"Ven" Astral says looking at me. "That boy Robin, it seems like he came from a different dimension, just like me"

I smile softly at Astral "I know what you're getting at Astral, but I'm sorry he won't know anything about you, it's something Humans due to make others happy by doing something called entertaining. Think of it as a sort of duel" I tell Astral in a way he might understand.

"I see" Astral says with a disappointed tone. I gently put my hand on his shoulder, the touch feels a bit ice cold sending a shock through my body. "Come on lets continue watching" I tell Astral Turning back on the TV as we back take our seat in front of the box.

"Next time – The heated final battle! Robin is forever!" The television announces to us just as we sit down.

"Aww Man, we missed it" I groan with a pout, before standing up and stretching "Well night Astral, I'll see you tomorrow"

"Night Ventus" Astral says with a Nod before retiring to the Emperor's Key, I pat Yuma on the head softly before heading down the ladder to my room. I take out Number 47 from my deck box and put it into the deck box in my junk draw with Number 26 and close and lock it, before climbing into bed and falling asleep.

-Zexal-

The next day after class had finished Yuma ran out of the class room yelling that it was time to bring it to 'em.

"Who should I duel with, I wonder?" Yuma asks to himself as I walk up behind him with my bag.

"Yuma, Let's go home." Astral tells Yuma. I give a raised eyebrow at this, Why did Astral want to go home so badly.

"But why?" Yuma questions Astral

"Today, I must affirm Robin's fate with my own eyes" Astral explains to Yuma

"What?!" Yuma questions in confusion.

"If he really came from another dimension, then maybe, there's a good chance he'll know something about my lost memories." Astral further explains.

I felt bad for Astral, his memory loss and being stuck in an unfamiliar world made it so that he would look in strange places for any hint of his past, it seemed very similar to what I went through.

"Again, what are you talking about?" Yuma asks Astral with a confused look.

"Like I said, that's just a live action!" Yuma says stamping angrly.

I lightly hit Yuma on the head, "What's wrong with getting connected to the characters on a TV show and wanting to learn their fate Toma."

"N-Nothing" Yuma stutters out, I hear him grumbling about Yuma not Toma.

I look over at Astral "Hey Astral…" I begin to say to him when Kotori comes running out of the classroom.

"Hey hey Yuma Ven, Have you heard?!" she asks us in an excited tone.

"What's up Koto" I ask her.

"Robin is coming over to our area!" Kotori squeals in excitement.

I pause at that, "Well, if that ain't the text book definition of dumb luck"

"What?" I hear Astral question.

"They are coming to a set by the shoreline to shoot some scenes" Kotori further exclaims.

Yuma just gives Kotori a confused look.

"We should go check it out" Tetsuo says.

"This terrible feeling is unbearable Aahh, Robin-Sama" Kotori says with a fan girlish look on her face

I give a small chuckle. "I'm in as well."

"I must go meet Robin as well!" Astral exclaims.

"Robin is great and all, But I'm gonna go duel" Yuma says before starting to walk off before I grab him by the ear

"You're coming too" I tell him as I follow the others.

"Ow Ow Ow, But I was gonna duel!" Yuma protests as I drag him along.

-Zexal-

"This guy is super popular" Yuma says in shock at the crowed.

"It's a good show" I say with a shrug.

"Robin-Sama" Kotori yells out. I get a strange bitter feeling in my stomach when she does that

"At this rate, we won't meet him at all" Tetsuo complains.

"Yeah, and I was looking forward to it" I say with a pout before I hear a laugh, we turn to see Tokunosuke.

"Everyone, got a problem-Ura" Tokunosuke asks us.

"Hey Tokunosuke" I say in greeting

"Hey Ven-Nii" Tokunosuke says in return, I raise my eyebrow at the Nii, but don't push on it if he wanted to call me that it was fine.

"I can help you guys meet Robin, These kind of things, you can leave it to me-ura!" Tokunosuke tells us.

The five of us snuck up to the guard hiding behind the giant shipping crates.

"Everything in this world has its hidden ways-Ura" Tokunosuke explains to us. "Acting nervous like an outsider, this will only make you seem more suspicious-Ura"

"But if you walk in freely, you'll look just like one of them-Ura" Tokunosuke says as he dawns a pair of sunglasses and a suit jacket.

I sweat drop, where did he even get those, I knew he wouldn't get it but it was nice he was offering to be bait.

"Ah, hard day of work-Ura, last night was sushi at Toppongi-Ura" Tokunosuke says walking past the guard. "Then it's off to get rich at the Ginza midnight reservation-Ura"

"What are you talking about?" snaps the Guard grabbing Tokunosuke.

"Like I said, good sushi, free taxi" Tokunosuke rants.

"Let's go" I whisper to the others as we sneak by the guard while Tokunosuke continues ranting.

"Ah, Unbelievable" Kotori squeals as we wander through the halls.

"I know, it's so exhilarating" I say with a grin.

"That Robin is really here" Kotori comments.

"Prepare yourself, King of Darkness, Dead Max" a voice rings out from the studio beside us.

"That voice" Kotori states.

"It's Robin" I say with a grin as we go and slip through the door to get a better look.

We hide behind some props and costume pieces and watched Robin practice with a whip.

"He's here, Robin's here!" Kotori says happily.

"It's the real deal" Tetsuo says.

"King of Darkness Dead Max, today we will settle this once and for all!" Robin says rehearsing his lines.

"King of Darkness Dead Max, could that be my enemy" Astral mutters

I softly chuckle, Astral was like an innocent child.

"Watch out Yuma, Ven, that's one of Dead Max's servants!" Astral shouts out in Alarm

"That's just a costume." Yuma explains to Astral patting the piece.

"Costume" Astral questions

"This stuff is all made up." Yuma tells Astral still patting the costume

Yuma leans forward to show Astral better but he accidently hits the Up button, unfortunately for me as the set piece begins to raise into the air Yuma grabs onto me pulling me up as well.

"YUMA YOU BAKA!" I yell out as we're both pulled into the air.

"Yuma, Ven" Tetsuo and Kotori shout out.

"Yuma, Ven you can fly in the sky?" Astral questions flying up to our level.

The costume begins to get flung around in a circle.

"No matter how you look at it, of course I can't fly!" Yuma Yells

"Come on Yuma where's your sense of adventure, this is fun" I say with a laugh.

Yuma just screams and mutters incoherently as we're spun around.

"I'm falling, crap crap crap" Yuma yells out as the costume is launched into a wall.

"Ouch" I say rubbing my head.

"You all, just how the heck did you get in here?" the security guard who came to investigate shouts at us.

"The window" I say nonchalantly picking my nose.

"This is no laughing matter" the guard snaps "Now, come with me to the guard office"

Tetsuo and Kotori walk off and Yuma and I begin to follow when Robin drops down beside us.

"You're a duelist, aren't you" Robin whispers to Yuma

Yuma and I look at Robin in shock, Robin throws out his grapple like thing and swings off with Yuma. I grab onto Astral's hand and we go after them, A bit later we all arrived in robin's room.

"This is your deck, isn't it?" Robin asks Yuma holding out a familiar red deck box.

"Huh, what the, Oh man that was close!" Yuma says in shocked panic. "I can't believe I dropped my deck case" he says rubbing the back of his head.

"The life of the duelist was…" Astral states to Yuma.

"Unbelievable!" I say finishing Astral's sentence.

"Thank you, you totally saved me!" Yuma tells Robin.

"No need to thank me." Robin says modestly "However, I have a request of you."

"A Request?" I say with a raised eyebrow.

"Please, join me in a grand banquet of dueling!" Robin Asks Yuma.

"So you like to duel?" Yuma asks Robin

"Yeah, a little bit" he tells us.

"In that case let's do it right now" Yuma says in excitement.

"Really" Robin says in excitement, I notice a slight change in his voice, he clears his throat. "No I mean, Do you really mean it?" in his Robin voice.

"Yeah, let's duel right now" Yuma cheers

I whack Yuma on the head. "Don't rush into things like this, introduce yourself first" I snap at Yuma before turning to Robin "I'm Ventus, Ven for short"

"I'm Tsukumo Yuma!" Yuma says in introduction "Now let's hurry up and duel"

Yuma, aside from dueling right now, ask him if he knows anything about me" Astral requests Yuma.

"Like I said, he doesn't know anything about you!" Yuma snaps at Astral.

I chuckle at Yuma and Astral's antics before I hear Robin scream in fear.

"What's wrong" Yuma asks Robin

"T-T-That thing" Robin says shaking under a bench and pointing at a spider. "I-I'm terrible at dealing with bugs"

"It's only a spider" Yuma mutters

I hit him on the head again. "Don't make fun of other people's fears now get right of that while I help Robin."

"Y-Yes" Yuma stammers out.

"Hurry, please do something about that spider!" Robin stammers out. I go over to Robin and pull him into a soft hug and rub his hair while Yuma gets rid of the spider.

"Everything's fine now" I tell Robin helping him into a sitting position as Yuma blows the spider out the window.

"You saved me" Robin breaths out in relief. "Thank you"

"What's with you anyways?" Yuma says laughing. "The great ally of justice is afraid of spiders?"

I give Yuma my death glare stopping his laughing short.

Robin sighs and takes off his mask "All of this, it's just a fantasy everyone made up" he rearranges his hair "My true self is neither powerful or courageous, compared to robin, I'm just a cowardly person who can't even stand spiders"

"I don't think that's true" I tell Robin gaining a curious look. "The courage your robin side has can't be from nowhere, it has to already be there it's just deep down" I say with a smile.

Robin smiles softly before sighing. "The image I've created, to tell the truth, I'm fed up with it" he confesses to us. "Every day, I play out the Robin you see on TV, however there's no one out there that truly understands me"

I gently put my hand on Robin's shoulders "Don't worry, Yuma and I will be the first to know the real you

"Yeah" Yuma says with a nod "Wouldn't it be great to just let out your true self"

"You mean it?" Robin asks us in shock and happiness. "Thank you, you two are the first to say that so me" he grasps our hands. "Hey will you both be my friend?"

"Of course" I say with no hesitation.

"My name is Fuya Okudaria" Robin, no Fuya introduces.

"Fuya?" I hear Astral question.

"Of course, Fuya" Yuma tells him "Hurry up, let's have a duel to our friendship"

"One track mind." I mutter

"Robin!" A women says walking into the room, who had knee length purple hair. "Those children, who are they?"

"Mother" Fuya mutters.

Mother?! This was Fuya's mother. I growl a bit, she seemed to ignore Fuya for robin.

"Mother?!" Yuma asks in shock.

"Didn't I tell you to not talk to any unrelated outsiders?" Fuya's mom yells at Fuya

"That's Galaxy Queen" Astral states.

"I-I understand, Mother" Fuya sighs.

"No, you don't get it!" She snaps, I felt a fire burning in my chest at this woman's attitude. "If you keep exposing yourself to your fans like that, you'll end up ruining your hard-earned image, think about all the hardship I went through to make you a star!" she tells Fuya.

"More like YOUR hard earned image" I mentally shout.

"It's best for you to live your life protecting Robin's image." Fuya's manager tells him, she didn't deserve to be called his mom.

"Come now, please leave us alone" she tells up putting her hands on our shoulders, I throw the one off my shoulder and give her my death glare gaining a flinch of fear from her before I walk out with my bangs covering my eyes.

"If you tell anyone that you've meet Fuya, I'll sue you for trespassing" she tells us as she pushes Yuma out.

"Wait a sec, let me go" Yuma protests.

"Please Leave, Come on hurry up" Fuya's manager says pushing a struggling Yuma.

"Yuma, Ven" Fuya says in worry.

"Fuya, we're friends, aren't we!" Yuma tells him. "That's why one day we'll duel for sure"

"It's fine" Fuya says with sorrow. "There's no chance you can keep that kind of promise, No one can save me from this" I see his eyes water slightly as the doors close. I just walk out wordlessly with my eyes still shadowed.

-Zexal-

A bit later after we leave the premises of the building I tell Yuma and Astral to go home and that I would join them later. I hung around for about half an hour before I went back to the studio. I pulled out my duel disk and slipped it out my wrist and activated it and put the Wind-Up Soldier card on it.

"Go knock out that guard" I tell the toy warrior, I had this strange power to make my monsters real, I used to have horrible control but with time it got better. I watch as the guard gets knocked out and I slip past him. I recall the monster and put away my duel disk. I slip through the halls past the guards and arrive at Fuya's room. I see him sulking in the corner.

"Hey, Fuya" I say walking over to him.

"V-Ven, What are you doing here?" Fuya stutters in shock. "You'll get into trouble, mother said she'd sue if you came back."

I respond by sticking my pinky up my nose and putting on a bored expression "Huh, is that so?" I say in a nonchalant, couldn't care less tone.

"Ven" I hear Fuya mutter in shock at how much of a rusk I'm taking for him.

"Come on, Fuya" I tell him, let's go have some fun.

"B-But I have to do a shoot" Fuya says in protest.

"Play hooky" I say with a shrug "besides she told Robin to do those things, not Fuya"

"Y-yeah but…." Fuya mutters.

"Come, on" I say grabbing his hand before pulling him along with me.

-Zexal-

A bit later Fuya and I were in the park, I had given Fuya my jacket and taken his cape to hide him from the public. So far it worked pretty well, it's amazing how much a change of hair style and attitude would fool people.

"This is great, Ven" Fuya says as he licks his ice cream, Fuya had gotten a simple vanilla cone while I got an Ice cream bar called Sorutoumi, It had a bit of a punch at first but was really good.

"Sometimes." Fuya mutters looking at his hands.

"Hmm?" I question looking at him.

"I just wish that my mom would accept me and I could lose the façade and let people know the real me."

"Then do it" I tell him taking a bite of my ice cream "Just because people know Fuya doesn't mean they will hate Robin, you just gotta give them that chance. Robin, Fuya both are you" I tell him.

Fuya smile widely "your right Venn-Nii" he gasps "sorry I didn't mean to"

I smile and ruffle Fuya's hair. "It's fine if you want to do that, I like acting as a big brother figure, it feels right, familiar almost."

"What do you mean?" Fuya asks

"I lost my memories around two years ago" I tell him nonchalantly.

"Do you think you'll ever get them back?" Fuya asks in curiosity.

"Who knows?" I say with a shrug "maybe I will, maybe I won't, I'm happy and that's all that matters"

"I wish I could be as brave as you without the mask of Robin" Fuya murmurs.

I gently pat him on the head. "Don't worry you'll be able to harness your Robin side as Fuya soon" I tell him softly.

"Yeah defiantly" Fuya says with a nod as we enjoy our ice cream.

-Zexal-

Fuya and I spent the whole day in the park, I had made sure to give Fuya the best day of his life. When sunset came I snuck Fuya back into the studio and promised him I would hang with him again and more ice cream. I went back home after that.

"Where were you?" Yuma asks when I walk in the door.

"Outside" I say in sarcasm

"Oi ven" Yuma says in protest.

"I'm going to bed" I tell him, I had a lot on my mind due to what Fuya had told me so I wanted to just go to sleep. I climb into bed without changing out of my casual wear and just fall asleep right away.

-Zexal-

"Hey Yuma, Ven did you hear?" Kotori asks us the next day before class.

"Hear what?" I asks her

"This" she says holding up her duel disk and opening up a news report.

"According to eye witnesses, they said it was the works of the popular TV series main character, ESPer Robin, was it the real Robin that did all this?" The reporter, well reports.

I tune out to the interview Fuya's manager is giving, "Why would Fuya do that?" I mentally question, when I had spoken to him last night sure he was shy and insecure but he wouldn't do something of this scale. Yuma's Emperor's key glitters out of the corner of my eye, of course.

"Agreed, Robin would never do anything like this" Kotori says snapping me out of my thoughts.

-Zexal-

Later that night Yuma, Kotori and I were walking the streets in search of Fuya.

"Like I said, why do I have to come too?" Yuma complains for like the hundredth time.

"Because Fuya is our friend, because I'll tell Akari you've been dueling and because I'll hit you if you Don't SHUT UP!" I yell at him. "Got it?"

"Y-Yeah" Yuma says with a nervous nod.

"It's easier to Patrol with three people" Kotori tells Yuma.

"With this, we will clear Robin's name once and for all" Kotori states with passion.

"Fuya" I tell Kotori

"Fuya?" she says looking at me.

"Robin's real name, it's Fuya, I'm helping for Fuya's sake not Robin's" I tell her.

Kotori Nods "Anyway I bet this guy is without a doubt an imposter trying to ruin Rob… I mean Fuya"

"That's right, a timid guy like that" Yuma mutters to himself.

"You say something" Kotori asks Yuma.

"N-Nothing" he stutters before we hear a scream.

"This way" I say as we take off running.

We ran up some stairs to see a man tied up. "Wre you alright?" Kotori asks him.

"Yuma, Ven!" Astral says looking at something, we turn to see Robin running off.

"Yuma stay here." I order him as I run after Robin.

"Hold it" I yell after Robin as he leaps onto a wall, he turns around and I see Fuya.

"I knew it" I mutter to myself.

"Ven-Nii" Fuya mutters. "Mind your own business" he tells me before hopping up the buildings and dashing away. I hear a soft lullaby like a mother singing that gets distant as Fuya leaves.

"Fuya" I say clenching the Symbol. "I'll free you I promise"

"Where's the culprit?" Kotori asks as She and Yuma run up to me.

"I lost him" I say with an awkward laugh and rub my head sheepishly.

-Zexal-

The next day I kept mostly to myself waiting until nightfall so I could free Fuya from his darkness, the day went by pretty fast and soon sundown has arrived.

"It's time" I tell myself as night fall arrives and I stand outside the empty studio, The Numbers call was coming from within, which I knew was Fuya.

I walked in and noticed Fuya about to pick up his mask, I turn on the lights gaining his attention.

"Fuya" I say stepping into the room. "I can't believe you last yourself to the façade" I tell him. "Is this really the right way to prove yourself to your mother?"

"So you came Ven-nii" Fuya states. "Even when I told you to stay out of this"

I shrug "If I didn't listen to your mom, what made you think I would listen to you?" I ask rhetorically before shaking my head. "Do you know what you're causing?"

"I've got to live up to my mother's expectations." Fuya states

"Expectations?" I question.

"King of Darkness Dead Max and all his followers must be eliminated" Fuya states.

"Fuya" I mutter in worry for my surrogate little brother.

"Because I am, for real… I'm the real Different Dimension ESPer Robin" Robin says putting on his mask.

"Ven-nii, do you still not understand?" Robin asks as the lullaby song increases. "I am truly the one and only Different Dimension ESPer Robin!"

"Fuya" I mutter to myself before shaking my head to clear it. "Don't worry Fuya I'll free your imprisoned heart and take on your suffering"

Robin begins to laugh almost manically. "I'll swing down the holy sword and uphold my banquet of justice!" he exclaims.

"Snap out of it, Fuya!" I yell at him.

"Ventus-Nii, why do you stand in my way?" Robin questions. "I see, you must also be one of King of Darkness Dead Max's servants."

I give off a manically laugh "Very good Robin" I say with a mock clap "You saw right through me, now I will have to duel you and convert you to Dead Max-sama's side."

"I accept, Ventus-Nii" Fuya says with a grin. "I will free you from Dead Max's Evil"

I smirk, he took the bait.

I grab my duel disk and slide it onto my arm. "**Duel Disk-Set**" I yell out. I reach into my pocket and activate my D-Gazer and put it over my eye. "**D-Gazer-Set**".

"**AR Vision – Link established**" the computer states.

"DUEL!" Robin and I yell out. (**Robin: 4000) (Ventus: 4000)**

Robin throws out his hand and a green **83** begins to glow on his right hand. "I knew it" I say to myself.

"I'm up, my turn, DRAW!" Robin says drawing his card. "I summon **Beastial Warrior Puman**" Robin announces as a Panther like monster in armor appears. (**Beastial Warrior Puman, Level 4, 1600**) "I set a card face-down and end my turn!" he says as the card materializes face down.

"Here I go, my turn, DRAW!" I yell out drawing my card. I Summon **Wind-Up Juggler**" I announce as my monster appears on the field. (**Wind-Up Juggler, Level 4, 1700 Attack**) "Battle, Go Juggler Attack Puman"

"Trapped you" Robin states. "Trap Activate, Triton Battier!" he says as his set card flips face up. "If I have three **Tri-Star Triton** in my hand, this card can force an attacking Monster into Defense Mode" Robin states as Juggler is forced into defense mode (Juggler-**Def: 1000**) "Then, I can Special Summon three Tri-Star Tritons, Come Tri-Star Tritons!" Robin announces as his tree monsters appear on the field. "It's the banquet of Special Summoning" (**Tri-Star Triton, Level 1. 100 Attack**)

"Three Level One Monsters" I mutter to myself, before taking a look at my hand. "I set two cards and End my Turn." I say as the card materialize and the turn passes to Robin.

"My turn, Draw!" Robin yells out drawing for his turn. "I release two of the Tri-Star Tritons for an Advance Summon!" he says putting two of the Tritons into the grave. "Come out, **Different Dimension Esper Star Robin**!" he announces as his other self appears on the field. (**D.D. Esper Star Robin, Level 10)**

"An Advance Summon, huh." I say with a grin "That's gonna make this interesting."

"And Then, I activate the effect of the third Tri-Star Triton!" Robin declares. "When Trion is used as the material for the release of an Advance Summon, I can negate their Monster Effects and Special Summon them onto the field!"

"This isn't good" I mutter to myself.

"It's the banquet of Trion's Revival" Robin states as his two monsters reappear. "Next, I activate **Space Ration** from my hand" he says activating the Spell. "This card only activates its effects when there's a Different Dimension Esper Star Robin on my field, its effect allows me to draw two cards from my deck!" he explains as he draws two cards. "I'll then Overlay my three Level One Tritons!" he declares as his three take off into the air and turn into yellow lights "Xyz Summon, Come forth, **Numbers 83: Galaxy Queen**" The overlay network opens behind Robin and the three monsters fly into it. (**Number 83 Galaxy Queen, Rank 1, 500 Def**)

I noticed that the new number looked exactly like Fuya's mom. "So blank Numbers must take form based on the desire of the one to pick them up first" I theorize.

"I equip Galaxy Queen with the Equipment Magic, **Cursed Seal of Dead Max**!" Robin announces "This card makes it so that Galaxy Queen's Battle Position can't be changed, and she cannot be destroyed, no matter what."

"That's gonna be annoying" I comment to myself.

"Finally, by using one Overlay Unit, Galaxy Queen's effect Activates!" Robin declares as Galaxy Queen absorbs an Overlay Unit into her staff. "Galaxy Queen, along with the other Monsters on my field, become immortal until the end of my turn, and that attack gains the power of Piercing Damage"

"Crap!" I mutter.

"Now, I shall grant you all my power" Galaxy Queen says, I raise my eyebrow at that, Speaking Numbers was new.

"Go Beastial Warrior Puman, Attack Wind-Up Juggler, Black Slash!" Robin yells out.

"Sorry Juggler" I tell my monster as it's destroyed and my life falls (**Ven: 3400**)

"Go Star Robin, Attack Ventus Directly, Surprise Punch" Robin Declares.

"Trap Open, **Scrap-Iron Scarecrow**" I announce as my trap flips up. "When you declare an Attack, This card negates that Attack, furthermore this card is set back in face down position ready for use next turn.

"Your persistent Pawn of Dead Max" Robin says, "I set one card face down, Turn end!"

I take a few stumbling steps forward. "Fuya, I will defiantly rescue you from you suffering, Ore No Turn! I yell out drawing my card.

-Zexal-


	7. Chapter 7: Star Robin is Forever

An: Thanks to Everyone who Reviewed and Followed this story, it means a lot that people are interested in my works, on the subject of the poll on wither Yuma or Ven will tag with Shark I am extending the end date out to May 16 so that both Polls I have open will end at the same time since I had only given a week before. Enjoy Chapter 7 of The Emperor's Regnant.

**Chapter 7 : Star Robin is Forever**

"Ore No Turn!" I yell out as I drew for my turn. I looked at my hand and field for a bit before looking at Galaxy Queen. "Fuya, I'll save you from your darkness and free your heart" I say to myself. "Got it" I say a plan forming in my mind and I activate the Call Function of my D-Gazer.

"Come on, Pick up pick up." I chant under my breath until Kotori's Image appears on the Screen.

"What's the matter, Ven? At this hour" Kotori answers referring to the time.

"Kotori, I need you to do a task for me, it's really important" I tell her dropping all traces of my Joking persona. "I need you to find Fuya's mother and bring her to the studio by the pier we were at earlier today, bring Yuma and Tetsuo as well"

"Huh?" Kotori questions in shock.

"I'm dueling Fuya right now to save him from Robin, she needs to see this to understand the path she put her son on." I tell Kotori.

"Okay I got it Ven" Kotori tells me before hanging up.

"I'm counting on you Koto." I say before turning back to the duel. I had 2 Set cards one was Scrap Iron Scarecrow, and 4 cards in hand, I look over at Fuya. "Fuya, I'll bring you back and save my little brother" I say flashing back to the day in the park I had spent with Fuya. "It's Playtime!" I say yelling out my catch phrase.

-Zexal-

I looked at my hand and considered my options. "I activate the Continuous Spell **Supply Squad**" I say as the card materializes on the field. "I Summon Wind-Up Knight." (**Wind-Up Knight, Level 4, 1800 Atk**) "Next I activate my face down Magic Card, Zenmailfunction" I announce as my Set card that wasn't Scrap-Iron flips face up. "I target 1 Wind-Up Monster in my graveyard and Special Summon it in defense mode, Be Remade Wind-Up Juggler." (**Wind-Up Juggler, Level 4, 1000 Def**)

I looked at the two Level 4 Monsters on my field. "I'll take away your loneliness Fuya" I say to myself clenching the Regnant's Symbol "I overlay my Level 4 Wind-Up Knight and Juggler." I announce as the knights morph into balls of light and spiral up into the air before crashing down into the overlay Network. "Fangs of deepest darkness, rise up against this foolish oppression! Descend now! Xyz Summon! Appear now! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" I Chant as my Ace Dragon appeared. (**Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Rank 4, 2500**)

"I Activate Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's Monster Effect" I yell out as an Overlay Unit enters the dragon's body. "Each Turn by Detaching an Overlay Unit I can target 1 Face Up Level 5 or higher monster my opponent controls and cut it in half, then Dark Rebellion gains the same amount until the end of the turn. Treason Discharge!" I yell out as Dark Rebellion generates some electricity and binds Star Robin as its attack raises to 4000. "BATTLE! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon Attack Beast Warrior Puman." I announce saving the second overlay Unit for Later. "Revolt of the Lightning, Disobey!"

"How Naïve, Trap activate, **Wings of Unity**!" Robin Announces. "Trap card, Wings of Unity's effect, When Star Robin is on my side of the field, when my opponent participates in battle, that attack is negated."

"Damn I was Careless" I hiss under my breath as Dark Rebellion's lightening dissipates.

"And then, I special summon **Phoenix Beast Galeruda**!" Robin announces as his new Monster appears. (**Phoenix Beast Galeruda, Level 6, 2500**)

"Tch, I only ended up giving Robin more advantage" I curse to myself.

"Is Everyone Alright?" Galeruda Asks

"You're finally here!" Star Robin says happily.

"You're late, Galeruda" Puman scolds Galeruda

"Seems like I finally made it" Galeruda States.

I grab a lollipop from my pocket and toss it into the air before catching it in my mouth. "Well this certainly is interesting" I say commenting on the dialogue of the characters. "It's like I'm getting my own special episode."

"However, you should have gone back to the princess" Puman tells Galeruda.

"Hmph, There is no way I will leave you guys behind here!" Galeruda states to Robin and Puman.

"Galeruda! Puman!" Star Robin says happily

"Robin." Puman and Galeruda say as a glowing gold light shines around them.

"Such Fierce Bonds" I comment with a smile thinking of my Nakama, before shaking my head. "Focus Ven he has 4 high powered Monsters against your 1.

"Then through the effect of Phoenix Beast Galeruda, I draw one card from the deck!" Robin says drawing the card.

"This is gonna be tricky" I say looking at my Hand. "I Set one Card face down and End my Turn" (Hand: 2)

"My Turn, Draw!" Robin yells out, before chuckling. "Next, I'll summon another one of my allies!"

"It must be Him" I say to myself thinking of the show.

"When Star Robin, Beast Warrior Puman and Phoenix Beast Galeruda are on my field, I Can Special Summon this Card to the Field." Robin says grabbing the Second to last card in his Hand. "This is the grand banquet from my allies, Come out, **Iron Giant**, **Ironhammer**!"

The ground shakes and Ironhammer explodes from the ground, I almost lose my balance.

"You're here, Ironhammer!" Star Robin Cheers.

"As long as I am here, don't even think about touching Robin!" Ironhammer states while scratching its head. (**Iron Giant, Ironhammer, Level 8, 3500 Def**)

"3500 Defense, That's gonna be tricky" I comment to myself.

"Ven!" I hear a voice yell out, I turn to see Kotori along with Yuma, Astral, Tetsuo and more Importantly Mrs. Okudaria.

"We brought her!" Tetsuo tells me.

"It's Fuya-kun's mother like you asked." Kotori states.

"Thanks Guys" I tell them.

"This is, just what in the world" Mrs. Okudaria states looking around before locking eyes on Robin "That's Fuya?" she questions, "Fuya is that really Fuya?" "What on earth are you doing, Fuya!"

Robin looks over at Fuya's mom "You there, who are you?" he asks

"What are you saying, I am your mother!" She tells him.

"You my Mother?" Robin questions Mrs. Okudaria "Such ridiculous words, my mother is right here." He states gesturing to Galaxy Queen.

"That Card." Yuma states looking at the Monster with a shocked look.

"NUMBERS!" Astral says equally shocked.

"Fuya." Mrs. Okudaria says with a worried tone.

"I'm not this Fuya person you speak of, I am Different Dimension ESPer Robin!" Robin announces.

"H-How can this be?" Mrs. Okudaria says in shock.

I grit my teeth in anger that she was so blind. "YOU DON'T GET IT AT ALL DO YOU!" I Yell at Mrs. Okudaria, making on everyone focus on me. "You we're so focused on that Stupid television show that you never ONCE considered Fuya's feelings, you pushed him to be Robin and let Fuya drown in his shadow. All Fuya Wanted was your approval so he became what you wanted him to be, He became Robin himself and went around taking care of crimes."

"T-That's…Nonsense" Mrs. Okudaria says but I can tell my words are starting to get to her.

"To answer his mother's expectations, he worked hard with all his strength!" I tell her.

"Huh?" She questions.

"To achieve that Fuya trapped his heart in a cage of loneliness and sealed himself in Robin's world with no return!" I knew I could bring Fuya back by beating 83 but I had to open Mrs. Okudaria's eyes.

"How can this be, Fuya!" Mrs. Okudaria says in worry for her son. I smile at that, I was getting to her.

"Robin, it's best if you forever live under my glory of darkness!" Galaxy Queen says laughing.

"Is that how I've been acting?" Mrs. Okudaria questions to herself with sorrow. "Fuya, please listen to me!" she begs her son.

"Urusai!" I snap at her. "Just Shut Up and watch the duel" I say before turning to Fuya "I'll free my little brother." I say under my breath.

"We shall continue the duel." Robin says drawing attention back to the duel. "By removing one Overlay Unit, I activate Galaxy Queen's effect one more!" he says as the overlay unit is absorbed into Galaxy Queen's Staff. "Before my next turn, monsters on my field not only become invincible, their attack will also inflict piercing damage!"

"What an Effect!" I hear Astral comment.

"Now, Star Robin and his comrades, you shall receive my magic once more!" Galaxy Queen tells the Robin Family. "Finish off the enemy who stands in your way"

"I understand" Robin says. "I activate the effect of Galeruda, When Galeruda attacks, Its ATK is increased by 300!" he says as the Monster's attack Jumps up to 2800. "Go Attack Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon."

"Trap Card Open! Scrap Iron Scarecrow" I yell out as my card flips up. When my Opponent's Monster Declares an attack I can negate that attack, then instead of going to the grave this card sets itself face down.

"Alright Ven!" Yuma Cheers.

"Interesting a protection card that can be use multiple times." Astral mutters to himself.

"Galeruda's attack is negated!" I state to Robin.

"However, I still have my remaining attacks." Robin declares. "Take this, this is the grand banquet of battles, Star Robin, attack Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Surprise Punch!"

"Sorry Dark Rebellion!" I tell my Dragon as the punch destroys it and my life drops by 500 (**Ven: 3500**) "Since my Monster was Destroyed I draw a card from Supply Squad." I say drawing a card. (Hand: 3)

"Go Puman, Direct Attack!" Robin yells out. "Black Slash!"

I dust myself off as the attack connects and my life drops by 1600 (**Ven: 1900**)

"Ven!" Kotori yells out in worry.

"I'm okay" I tell Kotori giving her a thumbs up.

"Damn it, this is getting annoying" I curse to myself.

"I set one card face down and end my turn!" Robin says placing the card.

"My Turn Draw!" I yell out drawing for my turn. (Hand: 4) "Giving up isn't an option" I comment to myself looking at my hand. "I Summon Wind-Up Rat." I say as the toy rat appears on the field. (**Wind-Up Rat, Level 3, 600 Atk**) "I activate its effect, once while this card is face Up, by turning it into Defense position I can Special Summon a Wind-Up from grave, Be reborn Wind-Up Knight." I yell out as the toy paladin appears from the grave portal.

"Next I activate my face down Card, Star Changer." I say as the spell card flips face up. "I choose one Monster on the field and raise or lower its Level by 1, I lower Knight to 3"

"Two Level 3 Monsters" I hear Yuma comment.

"I overlay my Level 3 Wind-Up Rat and Knight" I declare as the monsters fly up and enter the overlay network "Xyz Summon, Advance Rank 3 Wind-Up Zenmaines." (**Wind-Up Zenmaines, Rank 3, 2100 Def) **"I set two cards face down and end my turn" I say as the two cards materialize on the field. (Hand: 1)

"Useless struggle" Robin comments. "My Turn, Draw!"

"Star-Robin, Those guys are Unforgiveable" Galaxy Queen tells him.

"I Understand, mother!" Robin and Star Robin reply together.

"That's enough" Mrs. Okudaria cries out. "Please Fuya"

I notice Fuya Shake for a bit, "Is she getting through to him?" I mentally question

"Silence!" Robin yells at Mrs. Okudaria. "I am Robin, I must carry on my existence as Robin!"

"Fuya." Mrs. Okudaria says sadly.

"Trap Card activate!" Robin yells out as his card raises up. "**Change! Jet Iron Mode!**" "When Robin Family is gathered on my side of the field, by releasing all of them, this card's effect can special summon **Different Dimension Jet Iron Mode!**" he explains releasing all of his Monsters except Galaxy Queen. "Come out, Jet Iron Mode!" All of Robin's monsters begin to combine together into one.

"Amazing!" I say looking at the monster.

"Different Dimension Jet Iron Mode, His attack power is the sum of ATK of monsters released by Change Jet Iron Mode." Robin explains to me. "Because of that, its attack power is 8000!" (**Different Dimension Jet Iron Mode, Level 10, 0 ATK – 8000 ATK**)

"Also not good" I say swallowing dryly at the attack power.

"Battle, The Grand Banquet of special attack!" Robin Yells out, "Jet Iron Mode Attack Wind-Up Zenmaines, Go Iron Phoenix!"

"Trap Card Scrap Iron Scarecrow" I yell out as my card flips face up stopping the attack and returns face down. "Whew!"

"I activate the Effect of Jet Iron Mode!" Robin Yells out, "By releasing this monster I can Special Summon the Robin Family from my graveyard."

"NANI?!" I yell out in shock

"Gaze upon the Wondrous Banquet of Justice once more" Robin says. "Come back, Robin, Puman, Galeruda and Ironhammer" he says as his four monsters reappear.

"Come everyone, we shall finish off this evil doer" Star Robin says to his comrades.

"Star Robin, Attack Zenmaines!" Robin yells out. "Surprise Punch"

"Grahh" I mutter incoherently as my Life Points drop by 800 (**Ven: 1100**)

"I activate Zenmaines' Monster Effect" I yell out. "By detaching an Overlay Unit I save him from Destruction." I say placing Knight in the Graveyard.

"So you saved your Monster, but that won't save you." Robin says "Galeruda Attack Zenmaines, due to its effect it gains + 300 power" he says as the phoenix jumps to 2800.

"Trap card Open!" I yell out as my card flips face up "**Half or Nothing**, now you must make a choice, Either Half the attack of all your Monsters or End the Battle Phase."

"Of course I'll Half, I may take some damage but that is nothing for the sake of Justice" Robin says as Galeruda's attack drops to 1400 and he takes 700 Life Damage. (**Robin: 3300**) "Next I activate Ironhammer's Effect, Once a Turn I can choose a Level 4 or Lower Monster and make it attack directly"

"Crap!" I curse realizing what that means.

"Go Puman, Direct Attack!" Robin yells out "Black Slash!"

I brace myself against the wind as my life drops by 800 (**Ven: 300**)

"VEN!" I hear Kotori Yell In worry.

"I-I'm fine" I weakly stutter out.

"You won't be standing much longer Agent of Dead Max!" Robin snarls grabbing the last card in his hand. "I activate **Galaxy Queen's Light**" he says slamming the card into the duel disk. I Target a Esper Star Robin on my field and give all the Monsters of my field with a Level the same Level as Star Robin, So Galeruda, Puman and Ironhammer become Level 10." "I overlay the Level 10 Star Robin, Galeruda, and Puman" he says as his three Monsters enter the Overlay Network, with these three monsters I build the overlay network" he chants "Xyz Shoukan, Appear Now **Superdimensional Robot Galaxy Destroyer**!" (**Superdimensional Robot Galaxy Destroyer, Rank 10, 5000 Atk.**)

"F-Five Thousand Attack?!" I stutter out.

"Galaxy Destroyer's Monster Effect!" Robin yells out, "By detaching an Overlay Unit I destroy all your Spell and Trap Cards.

"WHAT?!" I yell out in shock and fear that my protection is gone. "Trap Card Open" I yell out in an attempt to use the set card.

"It's useless." Robin says in reply "You can't use any spells or traps in response to this effect."

"Shit!" I hiss out as my Supply Squad, Xyz Reborn, and Scrap Iron Scarecrow are destroyed.

"With This I end my Turn!" Robin says

"During the End Phase of the Turn Wind-Up Zenmaines uses his effect I can destroy one card on the field, I destroy the Seal of Dead Max" I say as Zenmaines fires off one of its hands and destroys the seal

"What?!" Robin yells out as Galaxy Queen flinches as her protection is gone. "Tch, I end my turn" he bites out.

"My Turn, Draw!" I yell out drawing my card. (Hand: 2) "I activate **Dark World Dealings**, We Both Draw 1 Card and Discard another." I Draw my card and Send one to the Graveyard, Robin just mills since he has no card in hand. "Next I activate the Card I drew **Xyz Treasure** Since there are Two Xyz Monsters on the field I draw 2 Cards." I explain drawing 2 Cards. "I Activate Xyz Revenge." I say Putting the Spell into the Spell/Trap Zone "If you Control a face-up Xyz Monster and I have one in my graveyard I can Special Summon it from the grave and attach an Xyz Material on your Xyz Monster to mine."

"What?" Robin gasps in slight shock.

"Be Reborn, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" I yell out as the dragon emerges from the graveyard portal. "Next I swipe an Overlay Unit from Galaxy Destroyer." I say as an overlay Unit orbiting galaxy destroyer flies onto Dark Rebellion. "Next I remove Overlay Eater from my Graveyard to Detach an Overlay Unit from a monster you control and add it onto mine." The Lizard sticks out its long tongue and swipes Galaxy Destroyer's final overlay Unit and attaches it to Dark Rebellion. "I Set one Card face down and End my Turn!" (Hand: 0)

"My Turn, DRAW!" Robin yells out. "I activate Galaxy Queen's Effect, By Detaching an Overlay Unit all my Monsters become Invincible and gain Piercing Damage until my next turn" Robin says as Galaxy Queen absorbs the final Overlay Unit into her staff. "This is the End, take this the grand banquet of Attacks, Go Galaxy Destroyer Attack Wind-Up Zenmaines"

"Trap Card Open!" I yell out as my set raises up.

"Oh No!" Robin yells out in worry.

"Trap Card, **Waboku**" I announce, "This turn my Monster's cannot be destroyed by Battle and I take no battle Damage" I say explaining my card's Effect."

"Tch, I Set one card and end my turn" Robin says.

"My Turn, Draw!" I yell out as I pull the card from my deck. I smile at the card "I activate **Seven Stone**, by Releasing an Xyz Monster I draw 1 Card and an additional card for each Overlay Unit, I release Wind-Up Zenmaines and Draw Two Cards. "Perfect!" I mentally say. "I activate **Sword and Shield**" I say putting the spell into the S/T Zone "This card swaps the Attack and Defense of all Monsters on the Field." Iron Hammer: 900 Def – 3500 Atk, Galaxy Destroyer: 5000 Def – 2000 Atk, Galaxy Queen: 500 Def – 500 Atk, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon 2000 ATk – 2500 Def"

"Why did Ven swap all their Attacks?" Yuma Questions to no one in particular.

"I Activate Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's Effect!" I say answering Yuma's question. "By Detaching an Overlay Unit from this card, Until the End of this Turn it halves the attack of a Level 5 or Higher Monster my opponent controls and gains the Same Ammount, Treason Discharge!" I yell out as Ironhammer is trapped in Electrical energy and Dark Rebellion raises its power to 3750. "Once More, Treason Discharge!" I yell out detaching the Final Overlay Unit raising Dark Rebellion to 4625 attack. "I Equip Dark Rebellion with **Big Bang Shot**, This Card gives Dark Rebellion 400 Attack and Piercing Damage." I say as Dark Rebellion raises to 5020 Attack.

"Im-Impossible" Robin Stutters out before Looking at Galaxy Queen. "Mother" he says in worry.

"Alright, If he Attacks Galaxy Queen right now." Tetsuo Begins.

"Robin will be Defeated" Kotori Cheers.

"As long as that face down Robin controls isn't a counter to the attack." Astral States.

"You can't get anywhere without taking risks, plus is there is any change to bring back Fuya I'm gonna take it." I tell Astral well making it seem like I'm saying this to myself for motivation "Battle, Go Dark Rebellion attack Galaxy Queen, Revolt of the Lightening Disobay!" I yell out as my Dragon charges at Galaxy Queen.

"I activate the trap card, **Star Robin is Forever!**" Robin yells out as his card flips face up.

"A Counter?!" I yell out slightly worries about what this card will do.

"With this card, when my opponent attacks, I can bring back Star Robin with 0 ATK from my graveyard." Robin says explaining his card's effect as Star Robin appears from the Grave Portal. "And he takes the place of the attacked monster!"

I looked over in shock, that had no purpose other than protecting Galaxy Queen from destruction. I smiled understanding that he wanted to protect his mother as Dark Rebellions Attack Sends Fuya Flying.

"Fuya!" Mrs. Okudaria yells out in worry for her son. (**Robin: 0**)

"He won, Ven Won!" Kotori Cheers. I give her a thumbs up and wink at her.

I stretched out my Hand, My Pendant glows as the Numbers Lifts out of Fuya's Body and Flies into my hand.

"Fuya." I hear Yuma Start. I look over and Notice Mrs. Okudaria walking up to her son.

"Fuya." Mrs. Okudaria says going to brush back some of her sons hair causing Fuya to wake up.

"Mother, what in the world was I…" Fuya begins to ask.

"That's….That's enough, Fuya." She begins. "To let you carry that much burden, I…"

"Mother." Fuya says looking at his mother.

"I was mistaken, I'm sorry" Mrs. Okudaria says apologizing to her son.

"Mother." Fuya says smiling and hugging his mother.

I smiled at the scene, feeling a bit of nostalgia.

"Heh! Somehow, I'm pretty jealous!" Yuma states. I knew he was probably thinking about his own Mother.

-Zexal—

The Five of us were all walking home, I had given Number 83 to Astral after we left the Building.

"This way, that guy can finally return to his true self." Yuma says talking about Fuya.

"Yeah." I say with a smile.

"By the Way Ven, Why didn't you tell me it was Robin behind the attacks?" Kotori questions me.

"Well two reasons!" I tell her, "One to protect Fuya, and the other to protect your ideal of Robin." I tell her.

I see Kotori blush a bit. "I didn't know you cared a little, too!" she says in a teasing tone. I feel my face go red.

"B-Be Quiet!" I stammer out gaining a teasing smile from Kotori.

I felt someone was watching us, I looked over to see Shark on the other bridge across from us. "Shark!" I mentally state, giving him a silent nod and turning back to the others.

-Zexal—

Later that Night Yuma, Astral and I were watching the latest Episode of Esper Star Robin.

"Such a good episode, right?" Yuma says crying.

I smile my eyes watery. "Yeah"

"Observation # 10" Astral begins, "I have come to comprehend human maternal love… I think"

I chuckle at that.

"That memory of mine." Astral states to himself. "That's the memory of my Birth."

-Zexal-


	8. Chapter 8: Cat's Suprise: Cat Deck!

Short An Before I Start: I'm looking for someone who would be willing to Beta for me and fix any small grammar or spelling mistakes I may have in my previous Chapters and well as Future ones. I meant to ask for one before, But honestly I just plain Forgot.

_Treason Discharge!_ \- Flashback.

**Chapter 9: Cat's Surprise: Cat Deck!?**

It had been a week since the incident with Fuya and Number 83. I was lying in bed when I sensed someone enter Yuma's room, I knew it was Cathy, She had a crush on Yuma and was showing it in an odd way by changing his school uniform so Yuma would end up wearing weird outfits to school, I admit it was funny. I closed my eyes and remembered back to the first time it happened.

_It was the night after my duel with Fuya, I was sitting on my bed looking over my deck again, I was constantly going over it so that I could always be ready to combat the Numbers. I heard the window in Yuma's room open and felt a presence enter the room._

_"__Who is that?" I mentally question as I hop up the ladder into Yuma's room. I saw a feminine figure with Cat ear like hair clips in their hair._

_"__Who are you?!" I ask the figure._

_I see her look at me in shock before trying to run out the window, I admit she was very nimble but it didn't take much for me to catch her. "Who are you?!" I hiss silently._

_"__C-Cathy" the now named Cathy shakes out._

_I give her a look. "Ok Cathy, Why are you breaking into Yuma's Room!?"_

_Cathy looks down. "I wanted Yuma to notice me."_

_I look at her for a bit, before smiling "You like Yuma don't you" I ask her teasingly_

_"__Y-yeah, I wanted to show Yuma I liked him." Cathy stammers out._

_I raise an eyebrow. "That doesn't explain why you're breaking into Yuma's room"_

_"__I was going to change his outfit around so Yuma would notice me." She says._

_I raise an eyebrow before shrugging "that won't really tell Yuma who was doing that, plus Yuma's a bit slow to notice his outfit has changed, but do what you want." I tell Cathy before walking off a bit before looking at her. "if you want any help with Yuma, Just ask Cathy" I tell her._

_"__Thanks" Cathy tells me._

_"__Your Welcome Cathy" I tell her letting her leave well I go back down to my room, I stop short "It's Ven" I say telling her my name before going back down._

-Zexal—

The next day as School I was standing with Tetsuo and Kotori.

"It's really been bugging me." Tetsuo tells us.

"What's that?" I ask him

"I mean, this is Yuma we're talking about, the guy who never beat me once!" Tetsuo says.

"What about him never beating you?" I press

"I mean when you look at his recent record, he's been winning one Duel after the next!" Tetsuo answers.

"It's because of Astral's assistance." I tell Tetsuo.

"Huh, and what exactly is so wrong about that?" Kotori questions Tetsuo

"His "Bringin' it to 'em" fits best when he's a loser!" Tetsuo sates bluntly

I let out a bark of laughter at the comment Tetsuo made.

"Eh, did you really have to call him a loser?" Kotori questions with a little stumble.

"Probably Not" I say to Kotori with a shrug. "But still funny"

"Gotta wonder if this "Astral" guy really exists" Tetsuo muses to himself

I fall in an anime faint, did I not just tell Tetsuo that Astral had helped Yuma.

"Sup!" Yuma calls out.

"Ah, Good morning Yu…." Kotori begins before stopping short.

"Ma?" Tetsuo stutters out.

I laugh at Cat's recent outfit, Yuma had on leather pants with suspenders and a Tiger like jacket over his shoulders.

"What's with the long faces?" Yuma questions us.

I see Kotori bite her lip in exasperation. "I can't take it anymore!" Kotori yells at Yuma.

I put my hand on Kotori's shoulder to calm her down before looking at Yuma. "Yuma, you should really pay more attention to what's going on." I tell him.

"I don't really wanna talk about a person's fashion sense" Kotori says silently.

"But the last few Days you've been wearing weird outfits." I tell Yuma. "Everyone's just gonna laugh when you dress like that!" I hear the class begins to laugh. "Yeah just like that."

"Th-The heck do you mean?" Yuma stammers out.

I groan, Yuma never once actually Saw himself the past few days, how is that even possible.

"Take a look at yourself!" Kotori tells Yuma as she and Tetsuo put a giant mirror down in front of Yuma.

"Where did they get that?" I question with a sweat drop.

"T-The hell is this!?" Yuma yells freaking out at his reflection.

"Wait, you really had no clue?" Tetsuo asks Yuma.

"I-I had no Idea!" Yuma stammers out, before looking at me. "Oi Ven, Why didn't you say anything and stop me." He asks me.

I chuckle "because it was funny to see you in those out fits, it's not my fault you don't pay attention."

Yuma Sticks his tongue out at me before looking back at his cloths. "What is UP with this getup!?"

"Not just the cloths Toma." I tell him.

"Yuma!" Yuma says in a grumble under his breath.

"You've been acting really weird for days now!" Kotori tells Yuma.

_Having a bentou you didn't even know about!" _Kotori Tells Yuma. _"And the fancy food that made no sense whatsoever!"_

"_And there's that 100 you scored on that test!" _I add on.

"And there's Yesterday" Kotori says. Talking about when Yuma jumped the 20 Stack and got stuck in the air due to the harness he was wearing, but somehow never noticed was on him.

"You're right, that put me through a ton of Crap!" Yuma mutters. "Who the heck did that?"

I see the Emperor's Key glow and Astral Appear.

"She's always been watching you." Astral tells Yuma.

"Say Wha?" Yuma looks at Astral confused.

"Yesterday was no exception" Astral replies to Yuma "She entered your room late at night and was up to something."

"If you knew the entire time, why the heck didn't you tell me?!" Yuma yells at Astral.

"Well…" Astral begins but I shake my head at him silently telling him not to mention my involvement. "I didn't feel the need to say anything, I also hang out in your room." he finishes.

"So I assumed other people coming into your room was natural, Ven does it as Well." Astral Tells Yuma.

I chuckle at Astral's childish nativity.

"Well Ven is family so that makes sense." Yuma tells Astral. "There's nothing natural about other people coming into my room." he yells before throwing off the tiger jacket. "I swear to find this culprit."

"What a thing to say while dressed like that" Kotori criticizes Yuma.

"I didn't choose to wear this" Yuma protests.

"Suuuure" I say with an eye roll. "You could of just looked at what you were putting on."

"Yuma has no sense of fashion at all" Kotori states.

I nod in agreement.

"The heck's that supposed to mean?" Yuma questions. "Well then, what would you have me wear?"

"Oh, I assure you I'm muck better then you at fashion" Kotori smirks at Yuma. "Even Ven here has a much better fashion sense.

I feel my face heat up at Kotori's praise.

"Then let's see some proof!" Yuma says in a challenging tone.

I put my hand on Kotori's shoulder smirking at Yuma. "It would be our please" I tell him.

"Defiantly" Kotori says in agreement.

"How about we go to the mall and pick out some cloths for Yuma on Sunday" I tell Yuma and Kotori.

"How amusing!" Yuma says accepting the challenge.

"Let's all meet up at 3 O'Clock sharp!" I tell them.

"Got it!" Yuma says In agreement.

"Sure" Kotori adds on.

"We won't be late." I tell Kotori.

"Of course Not" Yuma adds on.

-Zexal—

After class I went over to Cathy. "How you holding up?" I ask her.

She looks down. "I really thought Yuma would notice me"

I smile at her and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I have a plan that I set into motion ever since Kotori suggested the shopping."

I see Cathy hiss at Kotori's name.

"Don't worry, she only like Yuma as a friend." I tell her. "I hope" I mentally add

Cat Relaxes at that. "So what's the plan?" She asks.

"Well Yuma will probably only notice someone through a Duel." I tell her, "Just leave it all to me and I'll help get the duel set up."

Cat nods before walking away, I stand up and mentally prep myself for Sunday.

-Zexal-

I was waiting for Kotori, it was 3:10, I was leaning under a clock on a small Hill with my casual wear on when Kotori ran past. "Yo Kotori" I tell her.

"Hey Ven, Where's Yuma" She questions.

I jump off the Hill and land near here. "At the mall" I tell her. "I was waiting for you here because I needed something from you.

"What's that?" She questions.

I silently reach out and pull off Kotori's hair ribbon letting her hair fall down.

"Huh?" Kotori questions.

"I know who was behind all of Yuma's Incident's" I tell her.

"How come you didn't say anything then?" Kotori questions me

"The girl Cathy in our class has a crush on Yuma and wanted to show Yuma by swapping his cloths, I'll admit it was a weird way to do it but to each his own." I tell her.

Kotori smiles "ahh young love, that doesn't explain why you need the ribbon.

"I told Cathy that Yuma would probably notice someone in a duel and that would be the only way, I just need to create a Situation to start that duel and I'm sure if I pretended you were kidnapped he would be willing to duel." I explain to Kotori holding up the Ribbon.

Kotori nods at me. "Well I'll Trust you with that Ven, it's very important to me."

I give her a nod. "I'll keep your ribbon safe, but honestly I like your hair down it looks cute." I tell her with a smile as I put the Ribbon into my pocket.

Kotori blushes "W-Whatever, I'll see you at the mall" she stammers running off.

"Phase one done." I mutter to myself running off towards where Cathy said she lived.

-Zexal—

"Yo Yuma." I say walking up to him.

"Hey Ven" Yuma greets in return. "Do you know where Kotori is?"

I shake my head. "Nope sorry, she must be running late."

I hear a bunch of meowing and look down to see a bunch of Cats surrounding Yuma.

"W-What in the world are these!?" Astral stammers in panic.

"Don't worry Astral they're friendly" I tell him picking up a blue cat that couldn't be more than a month old who nestles into my arms in a purr.

"Something about their arched backs and four legs strikes me as bizarre!" Astral states.

"Huh, could it be that you're not good with cats" Yuma teases Astral.

I slam my foot down on Yuma's. "Don't tease Astral" I scold Yuma

"Ow Ow OW, What was that for Ven." Yuma says hopping up and down.

"It's only because I haven't made not of them in my daily observations" Astral Comments.

I smile at him. "Don't' worry Astral, they may look strange to you but there nice, No need to worry about it."

I see Astral hesitantly nod.

"Well, then let me inform you" Yuma says giving Astral a teasing look. "Cats are really sensitive to spiritual activity, they can probably see you clearly!"

I take my fist and drive it hard into Yuma's head "I told you not to tease Astral"

"Alright Alright I'll stop" Yuma says with tears in his eyes.

"No, Yuma they appear to be looking right at you" Astral comments on the gazes of the cats.

"Huh?" Yuma questions turning to look at the cats.

I shift the blue cat I had mentally named Happy a bit in my arms.

Yuma notices a Cat carrying a card with a ribbon tied to it, "Huh, That ribbon?"

"It's Kotori's" I comment playing the role of the innocent bystander. "Is she okay?"

Yuma takes the card looking at it. "WHAT?!" He yells out in panic. "Kotori's been kidnapped?!"

"WHAT?!" I yell out putting on a mask of panic. The cats begin to run off as Happy jumps out of my hands and follows the cats. "Let's hurry" I say running after them.

"Right" Yuma says running after me.

-Zexal—

Yuma and I arrive at Cat's mansion and Yuma burst in through the doors.

"Kotori!" we yell out together. I notice a bunch of cats gathered around the grand staircase.

"What is this place?!" Yuma says commenting on all the Cat statues.

"Thank you for coming." Cat says walking down the stairs.

"Who the heck are you?!" Yuma asks Cathy.

"I am Cathy" she tells Yuma.

"Cathy?" He questions.

"Yes, but you can call me Cat-Chan" She tells Yuma.

"Wh-What's with her" Yuma stammers.

"I know her" Astral comments.

I nod "she's in our class, she seems to watch Yuma." I comment.

"Now that you mention it" Yuma comments.

"Now that I mention it…" Cathy starts with a blush.

"I got no clue" Yuma says bluntly

I felt bad for Cat that Yuma had no Idea who she was.

"Its fine, I'm used to it, after all" she says putting on her little cat mask.

"That aside, where's Kotori?!" I ask Cat giving her a soft glare, still playing the unknowing.

"Why did you do this?!" Yuma questions as well.

"You can't go, that's why I.." Cathy mumbles incoherently.

"Huh?" Yuma questions.

"Just give Kotori back" I pretend snap at Cathy.

"If you're that worried about her, I'll give her back." Cathy says turning around.

"If you defeat me in a duel." She says.

"But if I win" Cathy says before making a Cat motion at Yuma.

"Damn her, Could it be the Numbers!?" Yuma questions.

"I accept" I tell Cathy reaching for my dueling gear that I knew I left at home on purpose. I look at Yuma rubbing the back of my head. "Mind dueling for me I left my stuff at home on accident."

"Sure" Yuma says with a Nod.

"If the Numbers are involved you will need to win this duel" Astral tells Yuma.

"You don't need to tell me, I'll Win!" Yuma tells Astral will complete seriousness. "Let's Duel"

-Zexal—

Cathy and Yuma went up the stairs so that they could have a better dueling point, I went and stood next to Yuma.

"Duel Disk, Set!" "D-Gazer, Set!" Yuma yells out putting on his Dueling Gear

I put on my own D-Gazer.

"AR Vision – Link established"

"Duel!" Cathy and Yuma yell out as Lightning struck outside the window.

"Ominous" I comment

(**Cathy: 4000**) (**Yuma: 4000**)

"Since cats always dash forward!" Cathy says making a cat like pose. "So I'll be taking the first turn, My turn Draw!" She says drawing her card.

"I activate the Magic Card, **Inviting the Cat**, from my hand!" Cathy says putter her card into the Duel Disk.

"A Magic Card right from the start?!" Yuma comments.

"Using the effect of this card, I can add a Stray Cat into my hand." Cathy says grabbing the card that slid out of her Duel Disk, she licks her lips a bit. "Ant then, the Continuous Magic from my hand, **A Rally of Cats** activates!"

"A Continuous Magic" Yuma yells out in shock.

I raise an eyebrow. "Is it really that surprising?"

"Now, given the circumstances are handled properly, she can use the magic over and over again." Astral Comments.

"And then I summon **Stray Cat**-chan in Attack Mode!" Cathy says placing her Cat Monster onto the Duel Disk. (**Stray Cat, Level 1, 100 Atk**) "And now, the effect of A Rally of Cats will activate!" She says holding up the spell. "When my Stray Cat-chan is Summoned, I can summon another Stray Cat-chan using A Rally of Cats!" She explains to Yuma as the second cat appears.

"What's the point of that?" Yuma asks with a cocky smile. "Summon all the 100 Attack Power Monsters you want, it's nothing to write home about!"

Usually I would scold Yuma for his attitude but for this duel I was keeping silent and letting Yuma and Cathy convey their feelings.

"Don't be so sure!" Cathy tells Yuma gaining his attention. "I set one card, Turn End!" She says as her card materialized. "Feel free to attack me at any time" Cathy says to Yuma in a teasing Tone.

"Okay, it's my turn, Draw!" Yuma yells out as he draws his card. "I Summon Achacha Archer!" he says putting the Monster of the Duel Disk. (**Achacha Archer, Level 3, 1200**) "When I successfully summon Achacha Archer, the opposing player takes 500 points of damage!" Yuma says as Achacha fired the flaming Arrow at Cat (**Cat: 3500**)

I smirk "Nice one Cupid." I say Yuma in teasing.

"Be Quiet, Kotori is in trouble!" Yuma Snaps.

I give an indifferent shrug as Yuma goes back to his duel.

"How dare you pierce me heart" Cathy says in a love dove tone.

"I don't get a damn thing you're saying" Yuma says.

I drive my fist into his head again.

"Ow what was that for Ven." Yuma stammers out.

"For not paying attention." I tell him not extending on what I mean.

"Whatever, I'm going to Attack Next" Yuma says.

"Wait, Yuma!" Astral tells Yuma. "Her Aim is.."

"Stuff it!" Yuma Snaps going to attack.

I chuckle when Achacha can't decide which Stray Cat to attack.

"Wh-Why are you hesitating?!" Yuma questions his Monster. "Attack the Stray Cat over there!"

Achacha aims at one. "No, That one!" Yuma says "Or…Maybe that one?" he questions unsure.

I feel like my chest is about to burst from laughter at Achacha's Actions.

"AH, Which one?!" Yuma yells out grasping his head.

"Who cares which cat, just attack me!" Cathy says in a lustful tone. "I bet you'd like that, you sure are mean" she says licking her lips again.

"When a Stray Cat-chan is face-up on my field in Attack Mode, you can't attack either of my Stray Cats!" Cathy explains to Yuma.

"Meaning…Erm…" Yuma stammers out.

"You can't attack at All" I tell Yuma.

"It would appear you are in quite the predicament." Astral comments.

"Huh?" Yuma questions.

"Like Ventus said, since there are two Monsters, both being a Stray Cat choose one and get the other's effect." Astral says.

"The very fact that your only option is to attack a Stray Cat the end result is that you can't attack either." I add onto Astral's words.

"Wh-What gives?!" Yuma yells out in confusion. "Darn it, what should I do?"

"Yuma, there is only one way to get out of this" Astral Tells Yuma.

"You are so annoying" Yuma snaps at Astral, "Didn't I tell you to shut up already!"

I feel a tic mark on my face as I drive my Fist into Yuma's head again. "Stop fighting with Astral."

"Geez, You're really violent today Ven" Yuma mutters under his breath clenching his head.

"I will use my own strength, to save Kotori for Ven" Yuma says sitting down.

I feel both embarrassment and happiness at that, Embarrassment for Yuma saying he's saving Kotori for me and the fact that Yuma didn't seem to have feelings deeper then friend ship for Kotori. "Why am I feeling this?" I mentally question putting my hand over my heart.

I see Cathy smile slightly at the slight chance she may have. "Remember you are Dueling with me" she tells Yuma.

"Ok, Looks like I already got it!" Yuma says standing back up. "I activate a Magic Card from my hand, **FLIP FLOP**!" he says as his card appears on the field, "This card can chance the Battle Position of one Monster on the field!" Cathy gasps in surprise at that. "I will switch the Stray Cat from my left side to Defense Position" he says as a Box surrounds the Left Cat. (**100 Atk-300 Def**) "Go Achacha Archer, attack the Stray Cat on the right side!" Yuma yells out as the cat gains a monstrous face and freaks out Achacha as the arrow destroys it.

"The Kitty!" Cathy cries out as her life drops. (**Cathy:2400)**

"I will definitely save our friend" Yuma says with conviction.

"How…How come it's not me in front of you, you only pay attention to that girl!" Cathy says to herself.

I felt bad for her, I just hoped this duel would let Yuma notice Cathy, I would make Yuma notice her even If I had to lock them into a closet.

"Don't let me leave your sight" Cathy hisses out. "You have to always look at ME!" she yells out in a frenzy.

"Wha…What the?!" Yuma stammers out in confusion.

"I activate the Quick-Play Card during my opponent's Battle Phase, **Monstrous Cat Transformation**!" Cathy says revealing her Set Card. "This card activates when Stray Cat is destroyed by battle, and I can Special Summon one Monster Cat from my hand, deck or Graveyard!" she explains doing a mini dance as the Monster appears behind her. (**Monster Cat, Level 1, 0 Atk**)

"M-Monster Cat?!" Yuma stutters in panic.

"When a Monster Cat shows up, all LV 4 or lover Monsters on your side of the field are destroyed!" Cathy says telling Yuma her new Monster's effect.

The Monster Cat lets out a yell that destroys Achacha. "And for every Monster destroyed by this effect, you take 800 points of damage!" Cathy says as Yuma's life Drops to 3200 (**Yuma: 3200**)

"How come you haven't noticed this passionate feeling?" Cathy questions Yuma.

"Oblivious Yuma" I mentally comment with a shake of my head.

"Darn, I set one card face-down, and end my turn!" Yuma says placing his card.

"My turn, draw!" Cathy yells out pulling her card off the deck. "I activate the effect of Monster Cat, Once per turn, I can add one Stray Cat from my deck or Graveyard to my hand!" she explains as a card ejects from her deck. "Then I summon the Stray Cat added from my Deck!" She says summoning the added Stray Cat.

"There are three LV1 Monsters on her field." Astral Comments. "So the Numbers are going to appear."

"Nope." I silently tell Astral gaining a curious look. "I'll explain later, but she has no Numbers Trust me" I tell Astral silently so Yuma won't hear.

Astral looks at me for a bit with a criticizing eye. "Got it Ven"

"What are you two talking about?" Yuma questions us.

"Nothing" I say direction Yuma away from our conversation. "You need to focus on the duel"

"Right" Yuma says looking back at Cathy. "Bring it on."

"I Overlay my Level One Stray Cats and Monster Cat!" Cathy says her monsters turn into lights and enter the overlay network. "I construct the Overlay Network with these three Monsters I construct the Overlay Network, Xyz Summon, Come forth **Twin-Tail Cat Lady**!" (**Twin-Tail Cat Lady, Rank 1, 1000 Atk**)

"How come she didn't summon a Numbers?!" I muse aloud playing along with Yuma's musing that Cathy was under the influence of a Number.

"I activate the effect of Twin-Tail Cat Lady!" Cathy says detaching an Overlay Unit. "Once per turn, by detaching one overlay unit, she gains 800 ATK!" (**1000 ATk – 1800 Atk**)

"Wa…wait a second, there are still two Overlay Units left, If she used them all." Yuma mutters to himself. "Let's see" he says doing mental math on his fingers.

"There will be an increase of 1600, up to 3400 ATK." Astral Comments to Yuma.

"3400?!" Yuma yells in panic.

"Sorry, just stay with me for a while" Cathy says with a chuckle.

"Awesome, Good Job!" Yuma comments Cathy.

"Then…" Cathy stammers out in a blush. "You have to always gaze at me" she yells in happiness grabbing a Card. "Field Magic reflect the world, I will change the battle stage, the world I created, **Cat World**, Activate!" she says as the mansion changes to a cat paradise.

"Th-The heck is this?!" Yuma stutters out looking at the new scene.

"This is the paradise for my cats, a world that contains only me, my cats and you" she tells Yuma.

I notice she ignored my but I kept silent.

"And in Cat World, the ATK of these little kitties will increase up to its original ATK!" Cathy says at Cat Lady Jumps up to 2800 (**1800-2800**)

"Sh-She's got 2800 Attack Points!?" Yuma stammers out.

"Yuma is finally looking at me!" Cathy says with a smile.

I give her a reassuring wink. "Go for it" I mouth to her.

"Now my Twin-Tail Cat Lady, time to capture Yuma's heart!" Cathy yells out. "Direct Attack!"

"Darn It" Yuma groans out as his life drops to 400. (**Yuma: 400**) "Trap Card open, **Fairy Gong**" he yells out as his card flips open. "This card can only be activated when I receive a direct attack, I can Special Summon one Monster with "Fairy" in its card name from my deck, in Attack Position!" Yuma says grabbing the card from his deck. "Come **Fairy Joe**!" (**Fairy Joe, Level 1, 100 Atk**)

"So be it, I'll End my turn with that." Cathy tells Yuma.

"Sharp, very sharp, you are So Strong!" Yuma tells Cathy.

"R-Really?!" Cathy asks in happiness.

"Sure!" Yuma says with a nod.

"But…" Cathy says going back to her shy persona. "But… Only within this world of Dueling… I can't do it…in the reality… I can't say anything in front of that person, He didn't notice me either" she comments to herself.

"Wow, that guy sounds like a Jerk!" Yuma comments

I slap my hand over my mouth to top a laugh at Yuma calling himself a jerk.

"Despite the fact that I kept using magic on him, it still doesn't work" Cathy further tells Yuma. "Not even a single glare."

I raise an eyebrow at Cathy calling her antics Magic.

"So at least, I can connect with the person I love in Dueling!" Cathy Tells Yuma.

"Just say it!" I yell at Cathy making her look at him. "Those feelings, just express them clearly, don't give up!" I tell her with a confident smile.

"Right, Not matter how many times it takes Bring it to 'em all the way" Yuma tells Cathy.

"Cat." Cathy mutters in happiness. "I'm gonna Cat it to 'Em" she yells out.

I chuckle at Cathy's twist on Bring it to 'em.

"I will confess, actually I always, L…L….L" Cathy Stammers out.

I slap my hand over Yuma's mouth to stop him from doing anything Stupid.

"I always Lo-Lo-Loved You Yu-Yu-Yu-Yu…" Cathy stammers out.

"You can do it" I tell her with a smile.

"I always loved you Yuma" Cathy says in a fast breath.

I smile "Atta girl"

"Ehh uhh." Yuma says in shock. "I-I don't really know what to tell you, I don't know you at all" he stammers out.

I pull out a lollipop from my pocket and stick it into my mouth. "Give her a chance, you might click" I tell Yuma.

"But what about Kotori?" he ask me, "She's the reason we came here."

"She's fine." I tell Yuma.

"How do you know that?!" Yuma questions.

I smirk "Just finish the Duel and I'll tell you.

Yuma Nods, "Got it, my turn, Draw!" he yells out drawing his card. "I activate the effect of **Fallen Cone**, when I discard **Growing Pinecone** from my hand, I can special Summon Fallen Cone!" he says placing one card into the grave and another form his hand onto the Monster Zone. (**Fallen Cone, Level 1, 200 Atk**) "Then the effect of Growing Pinecone in the Graveyard activates, When this card is sent to the Graveyard from my hand, I can Special Summon it." Yuma explains as the Grave Portal opens and the Pinecone Monster appears from it. (**Growing Pinecone, Lv1 400 Atk**)

"Yuma's actually doing well today" I mentally comment.

"Alright, I will use three Monsters to conduct a Xyz Summon as well!" Yuma announces "I Overlay my Level One Fairy Joe, Fallen Cone, and Growing Pinecone!" he declares as his monsters the Overlay Network. "With these Three Level One Monsters I build the Overlay Network" Yuma Chats. "Xyz Summon, Come forth, Baby Tragon!" (**Baby Tragon, Rank 1, 900 Atk**)

I smile at the sight of the Monster Tokunosuke gave Yuma.

"Then I Summon Gagaga Magician in Attack Mode" Yuma says holding up his Magician. (**Gagaga Magician, Level 4, 1500 Atk**) "I activate the effect of Gagaga Magician!" he announces. "Until the end phase, his level can be changed. I will change Gagaga Magician's Level to one!" (**Level 4-Level 1**) "Then I activate the effect of Baby Tragon by detaching one Overlay Unit, one LV 1 Monster I control can attack directly" Yuma explains as Baby Tragon swallows an Overlay Unit.

"How come you don't duel like this all the time?" I comment fiddling with the lollipop.

"Gagaga Magician, Direct Attack!" Yuma yells out. "GAGAGA MAGIC!"

"C-C-Cat!" Cathy stammers out as her life drops to 900 (**Cathy: 900**)

"I'm fired up!" Yuma yells out getting to his Duel with Cathy. "Go On, I attack Twin Tail Cat Lady with Baby Tragon!"

I raise my eyebrow. "What are you planning Yuma?" I comment silently.

"Yuma, it doesn't have enough ATK!" Astral reminds Yuma.

"I know that, no need to worry!" Yuma smiles at Astral. "I activate the Quick-Play Magic from my hand, **Giant Shadow of Egotism**, This card can increase one Monster's ATK by 1000 during battle and I choose Baby Tragon!" (**Atk: 900-1900**)

"Yuma, I'm so happy that…" Cathy mutters in a blush.

"Then, Thanks to the effect of Giant Shadow of Egotism, the Monster that battles with Baby Tragon will have its ATK switch of the original value." Yuma yells out ignoring cat's words. (**Twin Tail Cat Lady, 2800 Atk-1000 Atk**)

I face palm, Yuma's lack of interaction skills with Girls.

"I'm gonna bring it to ya!" Yuma yells out. "Go Baby Tragon, Baby Scream!"

"Meo-Why!?" Cathy yells out as the attack sends her flying and her life hits 0. (**Cathy: 0**) (**Yuma: WIN!**)

"Awesome, I won!" Yuma cheers out before looking at me. "Alright, where is Kotori you said you knew where she was."

I twirl the lollipop with my finger. "At the mall" I tell him casually.

"Wh-What Why did you panic when you read the note when you knew she was fine?" Yuma asks me about Kotori.

I shrug "Simple I was behind this whole Duel, Cathy wanted to tell you her feelings and I just helped her when Kotori provided to opportunity to set up a duel. You know I always help my friend." I tell Yuma.

"Yeah that's Ven alright." Yuma says with a smile.

Yuma and I walk over to Cathy.

"Hey." Yuma says to Cathy Holding out a Hand. "Are you okay?" he asks her. "I know your methods to trying to tell me how you felt were strange but even if we don't know each other much I'm willing to just be friends" Yuma tells Cathy.

I see a sad look in her eyes.

Yuma give her a smile. "At least until I get to know you better and can decide how I feel for you."

I notice a huge look of Happiness enter Cathy eyes. "Yeah" she says with a nod.

I smile at the two lovebirds. I feel a scratching at my leg, I look down to see Happy and Pick him up and scratch his ears. "Hey Happy" I say getting a purr.

Cathy Smiles at me. "You can keep him as thanks for helping me confess to Yuma"

"R-Really!?" I stammer out.

"Yeah" she says with a smile.

I smile and give Cathy a Nod. "Thanks Cathy, I'll take good care of Happy."

Cathy Nods. "I know you will."

I turn to Yuma. "Come on Yuma, let's go Home." I tell Yuma.

"Yeah" he says with a Nod. "Later Cat-Chan" he says as the Three of us leave the Mansion.

-Zexal—

I took Yuma to where I had left Kotori and saw her playing with the Cats.

"The little kitties go tripped up" She says doing a red light, green light type of game with the cats.

"So Cute!" She yells out.

"Yeah they are." I tell her gaining her Attention.

"Ven!" Kotori yells out in happiness before looking at Yuma. "Did it work?"

"Yeah" I tell her with a Smile handing her back the Ribbon. She smiles at me and puts it in her pocket, I wondered if she took what I said about her hair down making her look cute into consideration.

"Wh-What on earth are you doing Kotori?" Yuma questions about the cats.

"Playing with the cats obviously" I comment as Happy peaks his head out of my Jacket Pocket.

"CUTE!" Kotori yells out at the sight of Happy.

Happy shy's away but I stroke his head. "Don't worry, She's friendly" I reassure Happy, who sticks his head out again and looks at Kotori before meowing happily and letting Kotori pet him.

I smile at the scene as we all head for home.

-Zexal—

The Next Day Yuma, Tetsuo, Kotori and I were in the Courtyard of the school.

"I can't believe you got Akari to accept a new Pet." Kotori Comments to Me.

I shrug "Well it took a bit of convincing but since Haru fell in love with Happy Instantly it was pretty much a sure thing, Plus I could tell she wanted to keep the Cat as well." I tell Kotori.

"Um... Good Morning" Cathy says to Yuma with a Stammer.

"Morning'" Yuma says with a cheer.

"Ehh, who is that?" Tetsuo questions about Cathy who just ran off.

"How rude, she's our class mate" Kotori snaps at Tetsuo.

"Cathy the Cat-Chan" Yuma says with a Smile. "She's so good at Dueling"

"Plus she's got a big crush on you too." I tease Yuma.

"Oh, Does Yuma have a Girlfriend" Kotori teases Yuma.

"Be Quiet" Yuma snaps in embarrassment.

Kotori and I chuckle about Yuma's embarrassment.

"Now that I think about it" Tetsuo says gaining our attention. "Did you ever find out who the culprit was behind those pranks that embarrassed you?"

"Ahh, I don't know it at all." Yuma tells Tetsuo.

I hadn't told Yuma is was Cathy behind them because he didn't need to know what Cathy went through to gain his attention, just the end result was all she needed.

"Well were off the class." Kotori says grasping my hand in hers and dragging me inside.

I hear Astral Make observation Number 11 about Yuma and Females but the blood rushing to my face from Kotori's hand makes me miss most of What Astral is saying.

-Zexal-

Just wanted to give you guys a little sneak at what I have planned for the future. While Yuma goes to the Duel Lodge, Ven will take part in his own three chapter long arc that is centered around the Amusement Park arc of the Zexal Manga, The Chapter titles are called;

**Trembling Nerves, Ven and Kotori's first date**

**Lightning fast duel in the world of speed, My name is Thunder Spark**

**Recuse Kotori from the blazing inferno, Ventus VS the Doll Princess**

It will take place after Yuma's Duel with Kaito so at around Chapter 14 hope you enjoy it.


	9. Chapter 9: Shark's Counterattack!

**Chapter 9: Shark's Counterattack!**

Later that night I was laying down on my bed while Happy was laying on my chest. I gently stroked my new cat gaining a purr of content. I looked over at my deck which was sitting on the little bedside table.

"I feel that a storm is approaching." I mutter to myself before looking up at the ceiling. "I just hope Yuma, Astral and I are ready for it." I finish before closing my eyes and letting sleep overtake me.

-Zexal-

"Oh No!" Yuma yelled out running in place beside me. "Late Late"

"Yuma, Calm down." I tell him standing beside him calmly while we were waiting for the crosswalk light.

"But We're really late Ven!" Yuma yells out in a panic.

I just shrug and pull out a lollipop and stick it in my mouth. "It's your own fault for staying up so late" I verbaly poke at Yuma

Yuma just sticks his tounge out at me before notices the light change, Yuma looks around a bit before going to run across. I slowly walk after him. I notice a Motorcycle speeding towards Yuma.

"YUMA!" I yell out in worry.

Yuma dodges the motorcycle and the driver stops.

"Who's the reckless Son of a?!" I begin to say before the driver looks at us.

"You're…" Yuma Starts.

"Shark?" "Ryoga!" Yuma says aloud and I say mentally.

Shark just looks at us for a bit before driving off.

"Shark, where's he going anyways?" Yuma questions.

"Who knows?" I say with a shrug. "But we should get off the road"

"Huh Why?" Yuma Asks before a loud honking is heard making Yuma have to dodge a car.

"That's why" I say in a calm tone from the sidewalk.

-Zexal-

"I made it" Yuma moans exhausted.

"Yuma-Kun!" Takashi says to Yuma making Yuma Jump in fright.

I chuckle at Yuma's Reaction.

"Let me have a look at your deck." Takashi tells Yuma digging through his bag.

"What are you doing?" I ask Takashi giving him a look.

I notice Kotori and Tetsuo walk up behind Takashi as they look at Yuma's deck.

"What's going on?" I ask walking up next to Kotori.

"Morning Ven" Kotori says with a small smile.

I feel my face heat up from Kotori's smile

"Huh?" Takashi mutters looking at Yuma's deck.

I look over at Takashi with a raised eyebrow of interest. "Wanna tell us what's going on inside that mess of your head?"

"It's not here" he mutters aloud.

"What isn't?" Yuma questions.

"I mean your Numbers." Takashi tells Yuma. "Where are those cards?

Why are you looking for the Numbers?!" I ask Takashi putting a firm hand on his shoulder.

"We were just curious about them is all." Kotori tells me.

I give her a soft nod "We'll don't, you've all see firsthand how the Numbers affect someone." I tell them firmly gaining three reluctant nods.

"The Numbers?" Yuma questions. "They don't show up in my deck unless that guy is around."

I whack Yuma on the back of his head with my book bag. "Don't call Astral "That Guy"!"

"Owww" Yuma whines.

"That guy?" Takashi questions.

"Like Ven said, his name is Astral" Kotori tells Takashi.

"The "Dueling Spirit" Friend of Yuma and I" I say putting air quotes around Dueling Spirit, I knew Astral was more than that but the Duel Sprit was just the easiest way to describe him.

Takashi looks at Yuma and I see pure disbelief on his face. "What is all this?" He murmers to himself.

"Oh well, to summarize If you don't have the Numbers cards, then right now, you're just a terrible Duelist, aren't you?" Takashi says walking up to Yuma.

"HEY, there is No need to be rude to Yuma." I snap at Takashi giving him my death glare making Takashi flinch in fear, before I turn the glare into a full on smirk. "Even if that statement is 100 % True."

Kotori and Tetsuo let out a bark of laughter.

"Oi Ven!" Yuma says with a pout before turning to Takashi, "And what's with that attitude, Wouldn't that mean that all my Victories so far were all relying on the strength of Numbers and tha…Astral?" He says starting to say that guy at the end but stops from the death glare I give him.

"Isn't what how it is?" Takashi says walking over to us, "I mean, look at Venus-Kun here" he says pointing to me. "He has defeating many duelists without using any Number cards and even defeated a Number card himself.

"Two actually" Kotori corrects Takashi.

"Three" I mentally correct.

"Why don't you use the Numbers anyway Ven?" Kotori looks at me in questioning.

"It's fake" I tell her gaining curious looks from the others.

"If I can't get stronger using my own power and have to rely on the strength of outside help then I don't deserve to be called a Duelist." I tell them with a passionate tone.

"I never knew you felt that way Ven" Tetsuo murmurs.

Takashi looks at me for a bit before turning to Yuma, "To summarize without the Numbers, there's no way you can win against Shark and Tokunosuke."

"You guys!" Yuma tells at us in anger. "You just don't get the awesome power of my "Bringing it to 'em"!"

"My Duel Sphinx goes up dramatically, you know!" he says pointing to himself.

"Duel Sphinx?" I question in confusion.

"He's trying to say "Tactics"." Tetsuo states with a deadpan.

I feel a sweat drop run down the back of my head "How did you get sphinx from tactics?" I mentally question.

"Amazing, Tetsuo-kun must be Yuma's human translator!" Kotori jokes at Tetsuo gaining a small giggle from me.

"Well Yuma-kun, can you prove that you are still strong even without Numbers?" Takashi challenges Yuma.

"Challenge Accepted!" Yuma tells Takashi. "I'll duel with Shark one more time, as long as I can defeat him without Numbers, right?"

"Yuma?" Kotori questions Yuma.

"Hey you." Tetsuo mutters under his breath is shock.

I shake my head softly knowing Yuma would fail that mission.

"I see, that way I'll get to recognize your strength too, right?" Takashi tells Yuma

"Alright!" Yuma states grabbing his deck back from Takashi. "Then let's hurry up and go to Shark's place"

"Wait Yuma, I heard that guy hasn't come to school recently." Tetsuo tells Yuma.

Yuma gasps in shock and I look at Tetsuo with my full attention. "Ryoga" I mentally whisper in worry.

"After losing that Duel with you, Shark's reputation fell dramatically" Tetsuo tells us. "Rumor says, he started hanging out with some bad people."

"Ryoga, Rio" I mutter under my breath grapping the Symbol. "Let's go, were going to find Shark." I tell the others.

"Huh why?" Kotori asks me in confusion.

"I promised someone I would look after Shark, I failed that promise and now it's time for me to make up for that." I tell her gripping the Pendant harder.

"But it will be dangerous!" Tetsuo points out.

"I Don't Care!" I snap at Tetsuo, "for the sake of my promise and a friend I would gladly lay down my life.

-Zexal-

After school Yuma and I were walking through the mall heading to the place where Shark was last heard to be staying at, we turned and entered a shady looking alleyway.

"Geez, those guys don't understand at all." Yuma comments to himself.

I give Yuma a curious look.

"I'm way stronger than before, I can duel with out the Numbers" Yuma says in a tone which makes me think he's trying to reassure himself more than anyone else.

The Emperor's key glows and Astral comes out.

"Where are we going Yuma, Ven?" Astral asks us.

"We're going to find Shark, Yuma wants to duel him again without Numbers to prove he's a strong duelist." I tell Astral

"I see" Astral states.

"What do you want, coming out at a time like this?" Yuma questions Astral.

I give Yuma a look. "What's wrong with our friends hanging with out."

"He's just an annoying hitch hiker." Yuma says pointing at Astral.

I whack Yuma on the head. "He's a friend"

"Whatever" Yuma groans out before turning to Astral, "This is all your fault, for making things so troublesome!"

"What do you mean?" Astral and I question Yuma at the same time.

"I will duel Shark again" Yuma starts as we begin to walk down some stairs.

"Shark?" Astral questions

"The person who Held Number 17 and Yuma's opponent in the duel you arrived in." I explain to Astral getting a nod of recognition.

"But why do you want to duel him?" Astral questions.

"You don't need to know!" Yuma snaps back. "This Duel has nothing to do with you!"

"He wants to prove himself" I tell astral answering his question.

"You getting involved in this duel would make it worse" Yuma tells Astral.

Astral gives me a questioning look.

"Numbers" I say softly gaining an ahh from Astral.

"Hey Wait." I hear a voice behind us, I turn to see Tetsuo and Kotori running down the stairs.

"Kotori, What are you doing here?!" I ask in worry for here due to the type of place were in.

"I'll be fine Ven." Kotori says smiling at me before turning to Yuma, "Yuma you're really planning to go?"

"Of course!" Yuma answers her. "If I don't go see Shark, we won't be able to Duel!"

I clench my fists softly "And I won't be able to keep the broken promise" I say under my breath.

The five of us walked up to what looked like a broken down Game arcade, I saw Shark's motorcycle parked beside us.

"This the place?" Yuma questions. "Shark is here, isn't he?"

"Must be, Shark's Bike is here" I comment.

"H-Hey, this place doesn't look to good!" Tetsuo weakly protests.

Yuma and I ignore him as we head toward the building.

"Hey Yuma, Ven" Tetsuo calls after us in a weak attempt to get us to stop.

The Doors open as Yuma and I walk inside

"What a dump" I comment looking at the trashed interior.

"Such as strange place." Astral observes.

"Ven" "Yuma" Kotori and Tetsuo call to us running up to us.

"Let's go back home okay?" Kotori asks us.

I gently put a comforting hand on Kotori's shoulder. "It will all be fine" I tell her putting as much comfort as I can into my voice, I feel the tenseness in Kotori's shoulder relax a bit.

We hear someone grab Tetsuo.

"Tetsuo!" Yuma yells out in worry for his friend.

"The hell you doin' here, brats?" The guy with dreadlocks holding Tetsuo questions us. "This is my territory."

I stand protectively in front of Kotori.

"You jerk, take your hands off him." Yuma starts going to jump Dreadlocks but getting caught by another gang member.

"Yuma!" Kotori yells out.

I just keep silent observing the situation.

"Le'go!" Yuma yells out in protest.

"This stubborn kid's got some guts, ain't he" Suit comments.

"I not sure if it's guts or stupidity" I mentally comment.

"Whas' happenin', boss" A bunch of gang members ask as they come up around up.

I see Kotori getting nervous, I place a hand on her shoulder and give her a comforting grip.

"Just what are these guys up to" a red haired guy with a red reverse R and a blue K on his shirt says.

"You jerks, I came here to Duel, so lem'me go!" Yuma yells out in protest.

Astral floats upside down beside Yuma, "I suggest you give it up." He tells Yuma.

It takes all I have not to burst out laughing at Astral's pose.

"There is a vast difference between your body structure and his." Astral comments to Yuma.

"You stay outta this!" Yuma snaps at Astral.

"Bro, what should we do about these guys?" Suit asks dreadlocks.

"Should we get rid of 'em?" Dreadlocks asks in return.

I heard Kotori scream out as a gang member grabbed her, my mind snapped at the sound of her fear and I blacked out for a moment, when I regained focus I was breathing a bit heavily and noticed everyone was looking at me in fear.

"What?" I question.

"V-Ven, look" Kotori stammers out.

I looked at where Kotori was pointing and I was shocked there was a giant hole in the wall, and through six walls after that and lying at the end was the gang member who had grabbed Kotori.

"Did I do that?" I mutter under my breath.

"You bastard, how dare you hurt a family member!" Dreadlocks growls stepping closer to me, I give him a challenging glare that makes him falter a bit.

"Stop it!" A voice calls out, I turn to see Shark.

"Release them." Shark tells the gang members.

"Shark" Yuma mutters out.

"Do you happen to know these guys?" Dreadlocks questions Shark.

"I Do" Shark replies.

"Then your lives are spared." Suit says dropping Yuma. Dreadlocks doing the same to Tetsuo.

The gang members leave.

"You guys don't belong here." Shark tells us.

"Neither do you!" I snap back at shark.

Shark looks back at me for a bit. "This is the only place that accepts me" he says sadly before walking off again.

"Wait, Shark I have something to do with you!" Yuma yells after Shark.

"With me?" Shark questions stopping short.

"Please Duel with me once again!" Yuma requests.

I see Shark gasp at those words before burying it behind his cool exterior.

"That I can't do" Shark tells Yuma

"Why?" Yuma questions in response

"I gave up dueling" Shark explains to Yuma.

Yuma, Kotori and I gasp in surprise at that statement.

"I have no intentions, of ever playing again." Shark says as he leaves the building.

"Ryoga." I mutter sadly under my breath looking at the door.

-Zexal-

"Shark sure has fallen." Tetsuo comments as we are walking home. "Those brothers are punk Duelists" he explains to us.

"There the kind of duelists who attend all kinds of tournaments and threaten people." I add on to Tetsuo's words.

"What's wrong Yuma?" Tetsuo questions, I turn to see a solemn look on Yuma's face.

"Yuma" Astral calls out, Yuma and I turn to look at Astral.

"Why would he give up dueling?" he questions us.

I had a pretty good feeling as to why but would keep it to myself.

"Right, why would he give up dueling?" Yuma asks himself.

"No doubt that's because of losing to you." Tetsuo states bluntly

"No" I say with a shake of my head, "I think it was a variety of things, the loss against Yuma was just the final straw."

"Then why would losing to me make him give up Dueling" Yuma asks no one.

"There are somethings you can never get back after losing them." I comment looking out over the water

"Something you can't get back?" Yuma questions looking at me.

"Speaking of which, Shark started acting bad when he participated in the National Duel Tournament" Tetsuo comments. "Maybe something happened to him then."

I clench my fists in anger. Shark had told me about it when I met his sister. I felt bad for the guy.

-Zexal—

Later that night Yuma, Astral and I were up in Yuma's room while Yuma was laying down on his hammock.

"That guy, he should love dueling" Yuma mutters.

I smile at him, "I think with your spirit you can bring back the old Shark he tried to get rid of." I tell him kindly.

Yuma just nods silently as I leave him to his thoughts and go down to my room.

-Zexal-

The next day I was sitting next to Kotori getting ready to pack up for the day.

"Where's Yuma?" Tetsuo asks us as he and Takashi come up to us.

"He went home early." I tell Tetsuo. "At least that's what he told me."

"Don't tell me that Yuma." Tetsuo mutters to himself, I assume he is thinking about Yuma's desire to challenge Shark again.

I rub the bridge of my nose in frustration, "Idiot, I get you wanna challenge shark, but don't put your life at risk for it." I mentally comment before saying aloud. "let's go find Yuma, he won't give it up so we might as well help him"

Tetsuo and Kotori nod as the four of us head out the door.

-Zexal-

After a bit of searching we found Yuma and Shark by the pier near the hideout.

"Numbers can only be defeated by Numbers, but Shark no longer owns a Numbers!" I hear Yuma tell Astral.

"Yuma." Kotori and I end up saying at the same time, we glance at each other and blush a bit before smiling.

"How can I do such a lowly thing like using a Numbers against a guy who doesn't even have one?" Yuma questions to Astral. "Plus, I've gotten way more skilled than the last time, I can still win, even without your strength." He comments.

"Idiot, your letting your pride affect you again." I comment under my breath.

"Understood, I will carefully observe this." Astral tells Yuma before backing up a bit.

I see Shark grin ferociously, I smile I knew Shark was starting to enjoy the thrill.

"Let's Go!" Yuma yells throwing his D-pad into the air, "Duel Disk-Set" he yells out as the monster zones fold out. "D-Gazer, Set" Yuma puts on his Duel Gazer, while Shark and us spectators do the same.

"AR Vision – Link established."

"Duel!" Shark and Yuma yell out. (**Shark: 4000**) (**Yuma: 4000**)

"Let's Go, my turn, Draw!" Yuma yells out drawing his card. "I summon Gogogo Golem" Yuma says as the rock golem emerges from the ground. (**Gogogo Golem, Level 4, 1800**)

"Be careful, Yuma he uses many powerful monsters." Astral comments to Yuma. "With only Gogogo Golem.."

"I got it already!" Yuma yells at Astral. "I set one card face down" he says as the card materializes. "I can't attack on the first turn, Turn end."

"My turn, Draw." Shark states drawing his card. "I summon Killer Frilled Shark." He declares as the new eel like shark monster appears out of the ground in a splash of water. (**Killer frilled Shark, Level 3, 700 Atk**)

"Killer Frilled Shark?" I hear Astral Comment

"700 Attack Points." I comment "it must have a dangerous effect, what is he planning?" I rhetorically question.

"Next I special summon Shark Sucker." Shark says calling another monster to the field. (**Shark Sucker, Level 3, 200 Attack.**) "When there is another fish-type monster on the field, I can special summon this card from my hand" he explains to Yuma.

"There are two level 3 monsters." I hear astral comment

"An instant rank 3" I observe.

"Don't tell me." Yuma gasps in shock.

"I overlay my level 3 Shark Sucker and Killer Frilled Shark!" Shark announces as his two monsters turn into blue lights and fly up into the air. "With these two monsters, I construct the overlay network!" he chants as the red overlay network opens up in front of shark and the two monsters enter into it. "Xyz Summon, Come, Submersible - Aero Shark." He says as his signature Xyz appears from the ground. (**Submersible – Aero Shark, Rank 3, 1900 Atk**)

"1900 Attack Points, higher than Gogogo Golems" Yuma comments.

I sighed, once again Yuma thought the opponent wouldn't be able to easily Summon a monster with higher attack then his, I just hopped that set he had would be useful.

"I activate Aero Shark's effect!" Shark declares. "Once per turn, by detaching one overlay unit, I can inflict 400 damage to my opponent for every card in my hand." He says pulling a Unit from under Aero Shark and putting it into his graveyard. "There are four cards left in my hand, because of that you'll take 1600 damage." He tells Yuma.

"What?!" Yuma yells out shocked as Aero Shark launches its torpedoes at Yuma.

I hear the others gasp at the sudden damage. (**Yuma: 2400**)

"Then, I activate the quick-play spell, Cyclone from my hand!" Shark says holding up a card.

I was a little shocked, Cyclone was a bit of a rare card.

"Cyclone can destroy one spell or trap card on the field." Shark explains as a giant tornado of wind destroys Yuma's set card.

"Ah, my trap was." Yuma whines softly.

I shake my head softly, Yuma needed to learn to have back up protection and make his traps less obvious.

"Go, Aero Shark, Attack Gogogo Golem!" Shark orders his Xyz Monster "Big Eater". Aero Shark rams into Gogogo Golem as Yuma is sent flying from the impact (**Yuma: 2300**)

"I set one card face down, Turn End!" Shark says as his card materializes face down.

"Amazing, with only a single turn, Yuma's life dropped to 2300" Takashi comments.

"That's Shark for you." I comment with a smile.

"Oi, Ven who are you cheering for." Kotori whines at me with a small pout.

I give her a cheeky grin, "Why not both, they are both my friends."

Kotori just giggles at my antics as we turn to observe the duel again.

"Come on, what's wrong, aren't you here to defeat me?" Shark taunts Yuma. "You're here to beat my fallen self again, then make fun of me, aren't you?"

"You're wrong!" Yuma yells at Shark. "That's not what I'm after." He says standing up.

"Yuma, don't fall for Shark's pace." I mutter softly knowing Yuma wanted to duel this duel on his own. I see his face is conflicted on something. "Is he?" I comment aloud.

"Huh?" Kotori asks as everyone gives me a look.

"Nothing." I way waving it away.

"Damn, My turn, draw!" Yuma yells out grasping his card and drawing it.

"I Summon Gagaga Magician!" Yuma says grabbing his signature magician's card and placing it onto the duel disk. (**Gagaga Magician, Level 4, 1500 Attack**) I see Yuma look at his hand as if considering his options his face showing frustration.

"Come on, bring it out!" Shark yells at Yuma. "Your Numbers, your trump card."

My eyes widened in shock, was Shark like me, wanting to duel numbers and prove he can beat them with his own strength alone.

"Huh?" Yuma gasps in shock.

"What is Shark talking about?" Takashi questions.

"Only Numbers can be defeated by other Numbers" Tetsuo comments. "He should know that already"

"True, but if you know how to work around that, they aren't any more powerful than a normal Xyz" I comment to Tetsuo.

"Now, Summon it" Shark orders Yuma. "Your Numbers, did you really think you can beat me without it?"

I raised an eyebrow, Shark must want to defeat Hope and prove he became stronger than his old self.

"Since I accepted your duel like this, it'll only mean something if I defeat you while you used Numbers!" Shark tells Yuma.

Yup, I was right, I notice Yuma look conflicted a bit, so I decided to help him. "YUMA!" I yell out gaining his attention. "It's not wrong to use the Numbers even if you promised to not use them, if the opponent specifically requests you use them it won't be acting shamelessly underhanded." I tell him.

"Thanks Ven, Yuma says with a smile, I know that the moral dilemma was off his chest now.

"I won't object to you using the Numbers, I can't afford to lose the Emperor's key" Astral tells Yuma.

"WHAT?!" I yell out in shock, gaining looks of curiosity from everyone. "N-Nothing." I say with a red face. "Why would you bet, your sacred treasure Yuma?" I mentally question.

"The only way for the sake of winning is to use the Numbers!" Astral tells Yuma.

"You're right, I think you're right" Yuma tells Astral. "This duel isn't about my pride, I have to save Shark"

I smiled, Yuma was willing to forsake his pride for the sake of a friend.

Yuma grabs a card from his hand. "I activate a spell card, Monster Reborn, I'll revive Gogogo Golem from my graveyard."

"I overlay my Level 4 monsters, Gagaga Magician and Gogogo Golem!" Yuma yells out as his monsters turn into yellow and purple lights and fly up into the air. "With these two monsters, I construct the Overlay network." Yuma chants as the two monsters enter the galaxy style network. "Xyz Summon, Appear, Numbers 39: Aspiring Emperor – Hope" Hope unseals itself and lets out a massive cry of Hope! (**Number 39: Aspiring Emperor Hope, Rank 4, 2500 Atk**)

I frowned at Yuma's choice. "He had Gagaga Magician on his field, why didn't he go for Shark's monster and use Gagaga magician's effect to bring out Number 17?" I question internally.

"Yuma used Numbers?" Kotori questions in shock, I knew she had heard my speech earlier to Yuma, but I guess she was shocked Yuma actually went through with it.

"But he promised he wouldn't use it." Tetsuo says shocked.

"To summarize, Yuma's duels are still relying on the Numbers!"

"Tetsuo!" I snap at him. "Shark specifically asked for this."

"Y-Yeah but Yuma promised." Tetsuo trails off.

I give him a glare making him drop the subject albeit reluctantly.

"It's finally here, the Numbers!" Shark says with a smirk on his face. "I'm all fired up!"

I watched more closely then I was before, I was interested in how Shark planned to beat Hope.

"Go, Aspiring Emperor-Hope, attack Aero Shark!" Yuma yells out.

"So naive." Shark yells out. "I activate the effect of Killer Frilled Shark" "by removing Killer Frilled Shark from play from the graveyard, one of the opponents monster's attack is negated, and its attack power is decreased by 500." He explains as Hopes attack is cut short as its strength is cut down to 2000.

"Smart tactic" I comment.

"What?!" Yuma stammers in shock that Hope was stopped so easily.

"Trap activate, Fish Rain!" Shark declares flipping up his set card. "With this card, when a fish type monster is removed from play, I can special summon one level 3 or lower fish type monster from my hand, I'll Summon Big Jaws." He announces as the Monster appears on the field. (**Big Jaws, Level 3, 1800**)

"No way." Yuma mutters that his attack was stopped so easily. "Even if Hope couldn't destroy Aero Shark."

"Just now, you made a mistake because you're too eager to win." Astral tells Yuma.

Yuma looks at Astral in questioning.

"Monster Reborn can revive an opponent's monster as well" Astral tells Yuma, "If you revived Killer Frilled Shark from Shark's graveyard, activated Gagaga Magician's effect, then Xyz Summoned Leviath Dragon, Killer Frilled Shark's effect wouldn't have activated."

I smiled so even Astral noticed what I saw earlier, although honestly I'm not surprised.

"Then, using Leviath Dragon's ability, you could have destroyed Aero Shark." Astral further explains.

"So noisy, everything is still fine." Yuma bites out verbally at Astral. "Hope's attack power is 2000, There isn't a monster with higher attack then Hope on Shark's field." He comments. "I'll end my turn like this."

"My turn, Draw!" Shark yells out pulling his card. "I activate Aero Shark's effect, once per turn by detaching an overlay unit, I can inflict 400 damage to my opponent for every card in my hand!" Shark tells Yuma once again as he pulls the final overlay unit from under Aero Shark and puts it into the grave. "There are two cards in my hand, because of that you take 800 points of damage!" (**Yuma: 1500**)

"Then, I summon Skull Kraken!" Shark says as the Skull Octopus like monster emerges from under the ground. (**Skull Kraken, Level 3, 600 Atk**)

"There's two level 3 monsters." Yuma comments.

"Don't panic he doesn't have a card that can destroy Hope, a Numbers" Astral assures Yuma.

"I overlay my Level 3 monsters, Skull Kraken and Big Jaws." Shark announces as his monsters fly up and enter into the Overlay Network. "With these two monsters, I construct the Overlay network, Xyz Summon, Appear Black Ray Lancer!" (**Black Ray Lancer, Rank 3, 2100 Atk)**

I raised a curious eyebrow wondering how this new monster would be able to stand against a Numbers.

"This duel is mine!" Shark tells Yuma "I activate Black Ray Lancer's effect, by detaching an overlay unit during this turn, the effects of one of my opponent's monsters is negated"

"What?!" Yuma yells out as hope is hit by various slices of energy. "HOPE!" he yells out.

"Even if Numbers cannot be destroyed, it is merely a card effect after all." Shark explains. "If the effect is gone, then it can be destroyed!"

I was shocked, I never had thought about trying to negate the effect of a Numbers before, come to think of it I had assumed that effect destruction prevention applied to the effect of Numbers can only be destroyed by Numbers and not just battle and that was why I never used Zenmaines effect on a Numbers. I realized I had to research and try more against the Numbers and not assume anymore.

"How could it be?" Yuma stammers out. "Hope's Numbers' effects are negated?"

"Go, Black Ray Lancer!" Shark yells out ordering his monster to attack. "Black Spear!" The monster throws the spear at hope which completely penetrates the monster destroying it.

"HOPE!" Yuma yells out in agony at the destruction of his ace monster, before falling to his knees (**Yuma: 1400**)

"Hope, was defeated" Yuma stammers.

This wasn't good Yuma had lost his fighting spirit when hope was defeated, he never expected anyone could defeat his numbers, his arrogance had cost him once more.

"This boy, he discovered the Number's weakness" Astral comments about Shark.

"Aero Shark, direct attack!" Shark yells out as his monster charges at Yuma. "Big Eater!"

Yuma yells out at he is sent flying as the last of his life if striped away. (**Yuma: 0) **(**Shark: WIN!**)

"To summarize, it was a complete defeat." Takashi comments.

Tetsuo looks aside an emotion on his face that I can place as ashamed, I'm guessing for Yuma using Numbers.

"Yuma Lost" Kotori Mutters.

"It's because Yuma thought Shark wouldn't prepare for a rematch and went into the battle with arrogance." I tell her.

Kotori nods softly in unsure understanding.

"You're kidding right?" I hear Yuma murmurs in disbelief. "Even after I used the Numbers.

"That was almost too easy" Shark tells Yuma taking off his D-gazer. "Losing to a duelist like you, losing everything and such how laughable" he comments walking up to Yuma pulling the Emperor's Key off Yuma's neck. "As promised, I'll be taking this."

I wasn't too worried, I was good at reading people and could tell Shark wasn't seriously going to take it.

Shark stands up and takes a few steps away from Yuma. "This kind of thing, it's not even worth destroying." Tossing the key back to Yuma.

"Shark." Yuma says. "Wait"

"Yuma, you don't understand." Shark tells Yuma. "I'm staying with them because I like to"

I frowned, I felt a lie in that sentence that even Shark was unaware of.

"They gave me a place to stay, to someone with no place like me." He tells Yuma. "So don't get involved again!"

"Yuma." Kotori states in worry for her friend.

Shark drives off as Astral floats down to beside Yuma.

I look after Shark and watch him drive off.

I gripped the Regnant's symbol. "Rio, I'll make everything right" I mentally comment.

-Zexal-

Next week is the tag duel, I know I had made a poll but since I haven't seen anyone voting on it I'm going to close it early and make Ven the tag partner, plus it will just fit better with His promise to Rio. I will still leave the other one about Kotori's deck though.

If you pay close attention to my story, you may notice that Ven makes small references to Popular Media. if you can catch these refs and know what they are then props to you, they will actually play a small part later on in the story.


	10. Chapter 10: Ventus and Shark's Tag Duel

Just a quick note before the story starts, I'm extending the poll on wither Kotori will use Fairy or Winged Beast for her deck by two weeks, it will go down when Chapter 13 goes up.

**Chapter 10: Ventus and Shark's Tag Duel**

The next day Tetsuo and Yuma were having a duel.

"I special summon UFO Turtle!" Tetsuo announced as my summoned his monster. (**UFO Turtle, Level 4, 1400**)

"In that case, I'll use Gagaga Magician to attack UFO turtle!" Yuma tells Tetsuo as his magician attacks the turtle.

"Yuma-kun's personality, I just don't get him." Takashi muses to himself.

"What are you talking about?" I question looking at Takashi

"I mean his duel against Shark, If I had lost that badly, there's no way I can get back up so easily" Takashi explains

I chuckle and smirk. "He's stubborn" I say about Yuma.

"True" Takashi says with a nod.

I notice Tetsuo play the Quick Play spell Rush Recklessly raising his turtle to 2100.

"Ah, Attack power's gone up?" Yuma stammers in panic.

"In summary, Yuma-kun is a person without any pride, right?" Takashi questions.

I shrug putting my hands into my pockets. "Yuma defiantly has some pride, question is it too much or not enough."

"UFO Turtle, attack Gagaga Magician" Tetsuo yells out as the turtle destroys Yuma's magician. (**Yuma: 0**)

"Sheash, 20 losses in a row" I mutter into my hand.

"Damn It" Yuma mutters standing back up. "Heh, so you had a magic card too?"

I fell to the ground in embarrassment. "DID YOU REALLY NOT EXPECT A COUNTER?!" I yell out annoyed.

Yuma just sheepishly rubs the back of his head.

"Baka" I mutter face palming.

"Alright, let's do it again!" Yuma tells Tetsuo.

"You still feel like playing?" Takashi mutters in shock.

"I think he suffered one to many blows to the head from all the falling" I mutter softly enough for only Kotori and Takashi to hear.

Kotori chuckles a bit at that.

"Of course!" Yuma replies to Takashi "I'm aiming to become the Duel Champion, after all"

I look over at Tetsuo and notice a look on his face.

"Now, come at me again!" Yuma challenges Tetsuo.

"I can't do this anymore." Tetsuo says turning his back to Yuma and walking off.

"Is he still on about that?" I mentally question frowning at Tetsuo's retreating form.

"What's with him?" Yuma questions after a while before pointing at Takashi. "Then class rep, your next!"

"Eh?" Takashi stammers in shock. "But what about Ventus Kun?"

Yuma Chuckles, "Please If I dueled Ventus I wouldn't have any chance, he's ruthless." He says bluntly with a shiver in his voice.

I chuckle before noticing Kotori following Tetsuo and decide to go after her.

"Wait!" Kotori calls after Tetsuo. "Wait Up"

"Oi Tetsuo!" I yell after him making him stop.

"Tetsuo-kun!" Kotori says to our friend in worry.

"I didn't thing Yuma was that kind of person." Tetsuo tells us.

I clench my fist a bit. "What does that mean?" I hiss with venom

"That Duel." Tetsuo comments.

"Duel?" Kotori and I question.

"He said he wouldn't use the Numbers" Tetsuo tells us.

I felt pure annoyance boil up inside my blood, and before I knew it.

WHAM! Tetsuo was flying to the ground my fist was extended straight out shaking in rage.

"VENTUS!" Kotori yells in shock.

'You Don't Get IT!" I yell at Tetsuo, "It hurt Yuma to break his promise of not using the Numbers even if Shark had asked for it, but I don't consider Yuma failing as Shark himself asked for that." I look up at the Sky. "Besides Hope is a part of Yuma, Numbers or not and not being able to use him is a sort of strain on Yuma."

Tetsuo stands up. "Even if that's the case that guy…" he mutters.

Kotori and I look at him for a sec.

"But see, that's just because Yuma is an idiot" Kotori says cheerfully

I fall to my knees in fits of laughter at how happily Kotori said that statement.

"I know he's an idiot!" Tetsuo snaps. "Yuma is an idiot, and full of himself but…"

"Oi Tetsuo!" I say with firmness.

"But, he never went around telling lies!" Tetsuo snaps at me and Kotori.

"IT WASN"T A LIE!" I roar in Tetsuo's face causing him to stumble back in fright.

"Tetsuo-kun" Kotori yells out as he runs away.

I put my hand on her shoulder. "Let him be, he needs to sort out his own thoughts by himself.

Kotori looks at Tetsuo's retreating form before nodding.

I look back over at Yuma. "Yuma" I mutter under my breath before realizing I had done it at the exact same time as Kotori making me chuckle a bit.

"My Turn Draw!" Yuma says drawing out his card. "Alright, let's go!" he says making his move on Takashi.

I smiled at Yuma's optimism as I watched the very one sided fight.

-Zexal-

"Tetsuo!" Yuma yells out running toward Tetsuo who was on his skateboard.

Tetsuo stops to look at Yuma.

"Tetsuo, let's duel today too!" Yuma challenges.

"I can't tell if Yuma is stubborn, or loves losing." I mutter watching the interaction of Tetsuo and Yuma from a distance.

"I can't duel with you anymore." Tetsuo tells Yuma before skating off again.

"That's weird!" Yuma yells making a funny face. "What's with the stingy talk?" he yells pointing at Tetsuo's retreating form. "There are plenty of opponent's besides you!"

I smile a bit as I see Astral come out of the Key.

"It's useless" Astral tells Yuma. "Right now, you can't win no matter who you duel with."

"Blunt as Usual" I say walking over to the two.

"Normally, you would at least try to use childish strategies" Astral comments.

"He's right, lately you've been recklessly dueling with no strategy or depth to your moves." I add on.

"Ven's right, pointlessly attacking over and over again." Astral tells Yuma.

"What did you say?" Yuma yells at Astral.

"You're irritated because of Shark." He tells Yuma.

I raised my eyebrow, I hadn't realized that.

"Indeed he's an excellent duelist, very talented." Astral tells Yuma, "But that's not the only reason he won."

I frowned a bit wondering what Astral meant by that.

"What do you mean by that?" Yuma says expressing my very thoughts.

"He thoroughly studies your deck, and saw through the Numbers' weakness" Astral tells Yuma.

I make a small O with my mouth in realization as to what Astral meant.

"And Yuma knows nothing about Shark, he expected to automatically win because of one victory against him." I add on.

"Exactly" Astral states.

"What do I know?" Yuma questions somewhat to himself.

I notice his eyes go a little distance as if remembering something.

-Zexal-

Later that evening I walked into the school library to see Yuma and Kotori looking up some information.

"Duel Monsters National Championships?" Kotori comments at what appeared on the screen.

I walk up silently and read over their shoulders.

"Yeah, just a little." Yuma tells Kotori.

I notice him scroll down to look at Shark's info.

Yuma and Kotori Gasp.

"The Tarnished Champion Canadite, Kamishiro Ryouga?" Kotori reads out.

I reach over and hit a button shutting off the compter.

"V-Ven!" Yuma stammers in shock.

I look at Yuma. "Don't butt into other people business I tell him firmly.

"Is this about Shark?" Kotori questions Yuma.

I look at Yuma as well.

"I wanted to find out about Shark's past" Yuma tells us.

"Well don't" I tell him.

"Ehh, do you know what happened?" Kotori questions me.

I look up at the ceiling for a bit. "Yeah" I say after a small pause.

"What happened then?" Yuma ask me.

"Drop it!" I tell them firmly before walking off. "Ryouga!" I mentally state while walking through the halls.

-Zexal—

Yuma, Kotori and I were walking towards our homes leaving the school

"Ahh, I wish I knew what had happened" Yuma mutters.

"I told you to drop it!" I scold Yuma.

"I understand" Yuma comments, making me look at him. "That duel between me and Shark it wasn't the duel from someone who was dishonest."

I smiled a bit at Yuma.

"Oi!" I hear a voice call out. I turn to see Pinky the guy with the blue and Red RK shirt from the Gang run up to us.

"It's you, the guy from Shark's place" Yuma comments.

Pinky is breathing heavily before he begins to tell us what's wrong.

"WHAT?!" I yell out in shock.

"Shark is gonna be a card robber?" Yuma questions.

"Yeah, boss was talking about attacking the gallery" Pinky tells us. "It's all because off that card!"

"Card?" I question.

"Ever since boss got that card, they haven't been acting like themselves" Pinky explains.

I see Astral appear out of the Key. We lock eyes for a bit. "Numbers" We say in agreement as to what's going on.

"And no doubt, they're planning to make Shark take the blame for all of it!" Pinky tells us.

"Not on my Watch" I say before taking off Running.

"Wait Ven" Kotori yells after me making me stop and look back at her.

"That's enough, getting involved with Shark like that." She tells me.

I look at Kotori for a bit. "I have to go, I have no choice to go"

"But why, why go that far for Shark's sake?" She asks me.

" I made an important promise to a close friend that I would protect Shark, I failed in keeping that promise so now It's time for me to make up for my mistake." I tell her before taking off again.

"Rio, help me save Shark" I say as the Rengant's symbol sways back and forth as I run toward to Gallery.

-Zexal-

I notice Shark, Dreadlocks and Suit jump over the Fence with their bikes.

"You're late" I tell them standing up with the Gallery behind me.

"Who are you?" Dreadlocks questions me.

"The Names Ventus, and I won't let you get pass this point" I tell them.

"What did you say?" Dreadlocks says as a Dark Aura surrounds him.

"I knew it" I mentally state.

"You're that brat that hurt our friend from before" Suit says also gaining a Dark Aura.

"Well what do you know, they have brain cells to remember" I taunt them.

The **16** and **61** marks apper on the two gang members.

I throw out my hand Activating my Duel Disk, "If you want to continue, then you'll have to defeat me in a duel."

"Duel, you say?" Dreadlocks comments.

"What are you planning?" Suit questions.

I look over at Shark for a bit. "A promise" I comment before grabbing a Card I had grabbed from the House and Holding it Up. "If you guys win, My Numbers card is yours to take" I say holding up Number 47 Nightmare Shark. "However, if I win, you'll leave the gallery alone!"

"That's the same as our cards." I hear Suit comment.

"Oh really, so this thing is called Numbers?" Dreadlocks questions holding up his Numbers. "We've already gained this much power with just yours and mine, if we can get that we'll we invincible." He tells Suit.

"Now, come at me!" I tell them, not calling them the names I gave them, and I didn't get their real names yet.

"You, are you thinking of fighting two on one?" I hear Shark question.

"Of course!" I tell Shark. "There's no way I'll fail my promise to Rio to protect you again!"

I see Shark's eyes widen in surprise as he gasps in shock. "I already told Yuma, don't get involved with me again"

"Tough Luck" I tell Shark, "I failed my promise once, never again"

"I don't have anywhere else to belong" Shark tells me about the gang.

"You're wrong!" I snap at him. "Your place of belonging isn't something like this, it's with friends who accept you for who you are."

Shark gasps in shock.

"I will never fail again this time I will fulfil my promise" I comment to myself. "Now, Come!"

"You're pushing it too much, why go this far?" Shark yells at me.

"Because we are friends, nothing more nothing less" I tell him locking eyes with him to show me resolve.

-Zexal-

"Now talking time is over" Dreadlocks states.

"If it's about the Numbers, then that's a different story" Suits comments.

"This isn't two on one!" Dreadlocks states.

"Oh?" I say with an eyebrow raised in interest.

"It'll be a three on one fight he comments.

"Right Ryouga?" Suit questions Shark.

"Sounds fun" I say with a smirk.

Shark slowly walks over to my side. "Ryouga?" I question in shock.

"Sorry, but I'll be siding with this guy" Shark tells the two gang members.

"What did you say?" Dreadlocks hisses out.

"You, so you're betraying us?" Suit hisses out angrily.

"Ryouga" I mumble in shock that he would help me.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm just sick of these guy's babysitting, that's all" Shark tells me.

I chuckle. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

"Interesting!" Suit says "So you're challenging us to a tag duel?"

"What a bunch of idiots!" Dreadlocks comments. "You clearly know what's going to happen right, Ryouga?" he questions.

"Enough Talk!" I yell out grabbing my D-Gazer and putting it on since my Duel Disk was already activated.

"AR Vision Link Established"

"DUEL" All four of Us Yell out. (**Shark: 4000**) (**Ventus: 4000**) (**Rikuo: 4000**) (**Kaio: 4000**)

"So their names are Rikuo and Kaio" I mentally comment looking at the Dueling Info.

"I'll take the first turn!" Rikuo states, "My Turn, Draw!" he yells out drawing his card. "I set a monster in defense position." His monster appears face down. I notice the two gang members look at each other before Rikuo makes his next move. "Then I set two cards face down, turn end."

"Alright, My time" I yell out grasping the top card. "My Turn, Draw!" I yell out as I swipe the card of the top of the pile and add it to my hand. "I Summon Wind-Up Rabbit in Attack Mode" I say placing my monster onto the duel disk. (**Wind-Up Rabbit, Level 3, 1400 ATK**) "Next, since I summoned a Wind-Up Monster, I can Special Summon Wind-Up Shark form my hand" I state as the toy shark appears from a pool of water. (**Wind-Up Shark, Level 4, 1500 ATK**)

"I Activate Wind-Up Shark's Effect" I declare, "Each Turn I can either raise or lower his Level by 1, I lower Shark to Level 3."

"Two Level 3 Monsters" I hear Shark Comment.

"Next I activate the Continuous Spell Galaxy Wave" I say as an overlay network portal appears in the center of the field "Whenever I Xyz Summon the opposing player takes 500 points of Damage, Now I Overlay my Level 3 Wind-Up Rabbit and Shark." The two monsters enter into the Overlay Network. "With these two monsters I construct the Overlay Network" I chant out. "Xyz Summon, Advance Rank 3, Wind-Up Zenmaines!" I yell out as my ace defender shows up. (**Wind-Up Zenmaines, Rank 3, 2100 Def)**

"Now you take 500 Points of Damage!" I tell the two Gang Members as a pulse comes out of the overlay network."

(**Shark: 3500**) (**Rikuo: 3500**) (**Kaio: 3500**)

"Heh Heh you hurt your ally as well" Rikuo states.

"Sorry Shark" I tell him

"It's fine, it wouldn't be of a duel if I didn't have some sort of handicap" Shark states with a grin.

I smirk at Him before grabbing two cards from my hand. "I set Two Cards, Turn End"

"My Turn, Draw!" Kaio states as he draws. "I summon Resent Blizzardon" he announces as his Dinosaur monster appears. (**Resent Blizzardon, Level 4, 1400**) "Then I set two cards face down, Turn End" He announces as the two sets materialize face down.

"Against our invincible tag duel" Kaio begins

"We'll make you regret you ever challenged us." Rikuo finishes.

"My Turn, Draw!" Shark says taking his turn. "I summon Big Jaws" he announces placing the card on the Duel Disk as the Shark monster appears in a torrent of Water (**Big Jaws, Level 3, 1800**) "Next, I special summon Shark Sucker!" another monster appears in a torrent of water. "When there is another fish type monster on the field, I can special summon this card from my hand" Shark explains. (**Shark Sucker, Level 3, 200 Atk**)

I smiled "He managed to get two level 3 monsters out like nothing, you're as good as ever Shark" I mentally comment.

"I overlay my level 3 Big Jaws and Shark Sucker!" Shark declares as his monsters turn into blue lights and spiral up and enter into the overlay network. "With these two monsters, I construct the overlay network!" he chants, "Xyz Summon, Appear, Submersible Carrier Aero Shark!" (**Submersible Carrier Aero Shark, Rank 3, 1900 Atk**)

"Shark's Ace on the first go, Awesome" I comment.

"I activate Aero Shark's monster effect!" Shark announces. "Once pet turn, by detaching one overlay unit, I can inflict 400 damage to my opponent for every card in my hand!" he explains as he pulls a unit from under Aero Shark and places it into the graveyard as Aero Shark launches torpedoes at the opponents.

"There's four cards in my hand, because of that, I inflict 1600 damage to Rikuo!" Shark states.

Rikuo growls as his life drops. (**Rikuo: 1900**)

"Nice one Ryouga" I tell him.

"Is that what you think?" Rikuo says chuckling before looking at Kaio.

"Trap activate!" Kaio yells out as his set card flips up. "Blizzard Egg, Level 5, with this card when a player takes effect damage, they can special summon one level 5 monster from the hand." He says explaining his card's effect. "However, if they can't special summon, that player takes 500 damage"

I frowned, "These guys don't seem honest enough to leave something like this up to chance." I mentally comment.

I see Rikuo look at his hand for a bit before smirking, "I'll special summon the level 5 monster, Bontan Lavasaurus!" A giant dinosaur with glowing red rocks sticking out of its back appears giving off an aura of heat. (**Bontan Lavasaurus, Level 5, 2100 ATK**)

"Next is my turn!" Rikuo states "Trap activate, Flame Egg, Level 5!" his set card flips open. "When a player takes effect damage, an ally can special summon one level 5 monster from the hand." He explains, "However if they can't special summon, that player takes 500 damage"

"I knew it" I comment under my breath.

"I special summon the level 5 monster, Mince Icebergdon in defense position!" Kaio states placing his monster on the duel disk. (**Mince Icebergdon, Level 5, 2100 Def**)

"You see, this is our perfect combination!" Kaio states cockily.

"No one has ever beaten my brother and I in a tag duel" Rikuo adds on.

"Cocky bastards" I mentally comment.

"Lets go Ryouga" Rikuo yells out, "Trap activate, Staredown Level 5!" he declares as his second set card flips open. "For every level 5 monster on our side of the field, you take 500 damage!" "There's two level 5 monsters on our field, because of that, damage is 1000, take that traitor!" he yells out.

"Ryouga!" I yell out in worry as his life drops by 1000 (**Shark: 2500**)

"Hmph, not such a big deal now, aren't you?" Rikuo taunts.

"I set two cards face down, Turn End!" Shark says placing his two sets.

I kept looking at our opponents my mind trying to figure out how they played that move so flawlessly.

I felt someone approach but kept my focus on the duel.

"My Turn, Draw!" Rikuo declares. "I change the face down defense position monster to attack position!" he announces as his set monster card flips open revealing another Dinosaur monster, "Show yourself, Punch Flamesaursus!" (**Punch Flamesaursus, Level 4, 1800 Atk**)

"Oi Ven!" I turn to see Yuma, Astral, Tetsuo and more importantly Kotori, "Hey Guys" I say with a smile before I realize what I had thought about Kotori being more important, "She's just a friend" I mentally tell myself.

"Tag duel?" Tetsuo comments. "Why is Ven together with Shark?"

"I activate Punch Flamesaursus's flip effect" Rikuo announces turning my attention back to the duel. "This card's level is increased by one, to Level 5"

"Two Level 5 Monsters" I hear Astral comment.

"I overlay my level 5 monsters, Punch Flamesaursus and Bontan Lavasaurus!" Rikuo declares as his monsters turn into red colored lights and fly up into the air, "With these two monsters, I construct the Overlay network!" he chants as his two monsters enter the Galaxy colored portal. "Xyz Summon, Appear Numbers 61, Volcasaurus!" (**Numbers 61: Volcasaurus, Rank 5. 2500 Atk**)

"It's here the Numbers" I comment feeling a feral grin on my face.

"Numbers." I hear Yuma comment in shock.

"We did it, big bro." Kaio tells Rikuo making me raise a curious eyebrow.

"This game is ours now." Rikuo states. "Now let's show them our true terror."

"I activate Volcasaurus's effect!" he yells out as Volcasaurus swallows an overlay unit, "By detaching an overlay unit, I Can destroy one of the opponent's monsters and inflict damage equal to its attack to the player, I'll destroy Aero Shark Mag-max!"

"Trap Activate!" I yell out flipping over my set card.

"A Trap?!" Rikuo hisses out.

"Skill Twist!" I announce the card's name, "When a monster is targeted by an Effect of a monster I can change the target to a monster I control, I make Zenmaines the Target of Volcasaurus Effect!" I announce as Zenmains is hit by the lava, Further more by Detaching 1 Overlay Unit I save Zenmaines from destruction preventing the damage!"

"Annoying Pest!" Kaio bites out.

"You can't stop this!" Rikuo taunts, "Once Again, Mag max!" Rikuo yells out as Volcasaurus swallows the final overlay Unit and fires the lava at Aero Shark again!"

"Once More!" I yell out as Zenmaines intercepts the Lava.

"What?!" Rikuo yells out in anger.

"Trap Card, Skill Twist!" I say as my second set card is revealed to be face up. "I detach an overlay unit to save Zenmaines" I say as I place the final overlay unit into the grave.

"Annoying Pest, in that Case Volcasaurus Attack Aero Shark!" Rikuo orders his Number destroying Aero Shark and sending Shark Flying.

"RYOUGA!" I yell out at the same time Yuma yells Shark. (**Shark: 1900**)

I notice Shark looking at me with shock and awe in his eyes, I figured it was from my protecting him. I smile at him before turning back to the opponents.

"Do you see it now, our power?!" Rikuo says laughing.

"Your Numbers with be ours!" Kaio states.

"NUMBERS?!" I hear Astral yell in shock.

"But Shark doesn't have any Numbers." Yuma Comments, "Then does that mean that Ventus?"

I notice Yuma and Astral looking in my direction as Rikuo and Kaio begin to laugh manically.

"Annoying" I hiss out as their laughter continues.

-Zexal-


	11. Chapter 11: Combination of Rebellion!

Here's part 2 of the Ventus and Shark tag duel hope you enjoy it. I tried to get more used to making my own OC cards so I hope you like them and they aren't to broken.

**Chapter 11: Combination of Rebellion! Armored Xyz Activates!**

Rikuo begins to laugh, "It destroys the opponent's monster and inflicts that monster's ATK as damage to the opponent" he begins.

"This is the power of our Numbers, Volcasaurus, known as Mag-Max" Kaio finishes.

"Kind of bragging about something that can't be used any more" I say in reference to Volcasaurus Zero Overlay Units.

Shark nods, "It can no longer activate Mag-Max, its Monster Effect."

"Nice, the real game is about to get started!" Yuma cheers from the side lines.

"Oi, I'm dueling here not you Toma!" I scold him teasingly.

"Y-Yeah, I know" Yuma mutters with an embarrassed blush.

"Hmph, What do you mean just getting started?" Rikuo questions in retort to Yuma before looking at Shark, "Your field is wide open, we will finish you off in the next turn, I set two cards face-down and end my turn!" he says as the two sets face down.

I frowned, he called Shark's field Wide open "Zenmaines, Monster Effect Activates" I declared, "When I detach an overlay unit to save it at the end of the turn I used that effect I can target one card on the field and destroy it, hmm which one which one." I mutter while pointing around on the field.

"NO VOLCASUARUS!" Rikuo Yells.

"Good choice" I tell him pointing at Volcasaurus "I destroy" I shift my hand to a set card on Kaio's field "That set card" Zenmains fires off an arrow that destroys a card called Avalanche. "Whew good pick" I mentally say having read its effect when it was temporarily face up.

"Why didn't you destroy the Numbers?" Shark questions me

I smirk, "it's no fun beating a strong opponent with cheap tactics, If I beat a strong opponent I want it to be legit" I tell Shark looking him in the eyes.

Shark just Tch's and looks away, but I see a hint of a smirk on his face.

I grasp my deck, "My turn, Draw!" (Hand: 3) "I activate Dark World Dealings" I say placing the spell card into the appropriate zone. "Now we all must draw one card, and send one card to our grave" I explain as we all draw out cards, I take another one and put it into the grave. "Next I summon Wind-Up Rat" I announce as the toy mouse appears on the field. (**Wind-Up Rat, Level 3, 600)**

"I activate Wind-Up Rat's effect, once while this card is face-up I can turn it to Defense Position." I turn Rat sideways, "And Special Summon a Wind-Up Monster from my graveyard, Come Back, Wind-Up Warrior." The orange toy warrior appears out of the grave portal (**Wind-Up Warrior, Level 4, 1200 Atk**)

"Hey What Gives, That card what never in your graveyard." Rikuo complains

"You must be cheating!" Kaio says in accusation.

"That's rich coming for you," I say under my breath before speaking up, "I dropped it into the grave with Dealings, Now I activate Wind-Up Warrior's Effect, Once while it is face up on the field, I can Target 1 Wind-Up Monster on the Field and increase its Atk by 600 and Raise its Level by 1, I target Wind-Up Rat" Warrior grabs onto Rat's key and begins to tightly wind it as rat grows in size slightly. (**Wind-Up Rat, Level 3-4, 600Atk-1200 Atk**)

"Two Level 4 Monsters" I hear Shark Mutter.

"Now I overlay my Level 4 Wind-Up Rat and Wind-Up Warrior!" I announce as the overlay network opens up and the monsters enter into it, "With these two Monsters, I build the overlay network" I chant out, "Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Descend now! Xyz Summon! Appear now! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" I grab the card of my ace dragon as it pops out of the extra deck and place it onto the duel disk. (**Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Rank 4, 2500 Atk!"**

"Yay, its Dark Rebellion!" I hear Kotori cheer.

"Galaxy Wave Triggers dealing 500 Damage due to my Xyz Summon" I announce as a wave explodes from the overlay network in the center of the field. (**Rikuo: 1400**) (**Kaio: 3000**) (**Shark: 1400)**

"Heh Heh, All you did was bring Shark closer to defeat, while our life is barely touched," Rikuo Taunts out.

"Cocky bastards" I mutter silently, before grabbing a card from my hand.

"If Yuma had been dueling, he would of summoned Hope, and fallen into the Avalanche Trap card that was destroyed earlier, we are fortunate it was Ven who was in this duel." I hear Astral comment earning an OI from Yuma.

"I activate Xyz Treasure!" I announce putting the card into the spell and Trap card zone, this lets me draw 1 Card for each Xyz Monster on the field, Dark Rebellion, Zenmaines and Volcasaurus. There are 3 so I draw Three Cards." I announce adding the three cards into my hand, "I set two cards and End my turn."

"If we are able to seal the Numbers once he summons it, we'll win for sure, let's finish them off!" I hear Rikuo mutter to Kaio.

"My Turn, Draw!" Kaio says drawing his card, he places it into his hand before switching his monsters position on the duel disk form horizontal to vertical, "I switch its battle position, so Mince Icebergdon is now in attack position! (Def: 2100-Atk: 1300) "It's over, Ryouga!" He declares to Shark, "I attack Ryouga directly with Mince Icebergdon!" The dinosaur launches its foot at Shark, I see Shark go to use his trap but I intercept him.

"Trap Card Open!" I yell out as my set card flips face up, "Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, when a monster Attacks, I can use this card to Negate that attack." I explain as Mince hits to Scrap Doll with its claw and is forced backwards, "Then instead of going to the graveyard this card is set face down!" I finish as Scrap is set back face down.

"Tch that is going to be annoying!" I hear Rikuo hiss to Kaio.

"Agreed but we will find a way around it brother. Kaio mutters in reply.

-Zexal-

"That guy did unnecessary things again" Shark mutters under his breath about my protecting him.

"Such beautiful friendship!" Kaio taunts Shark, "How nice, you got a good friend there, then here's another one, I attack Ryouga directly with Resent Blizzardon!" The Ice Dinosaur charges at Shark.

"Trap Card Open!" Shark yells out as his card flips up, "Zeus' Breath, this card negates a Monsters Attack." He explains at the monster is stopped by a gale of wind.

"Nice we stopped his attacks!" I cheer lightly before turning serious, "The second Numbers is probably coming soon" I mentally comment to myself. "The Real game is about to get started" I say with a mirk to Shark.

"Yeah!" He says with a nod.

"It seems like you still don't understand." Kaio comments.

"Understanding how powerful we are!" Rikuo finishes for him. "I activate the Trap card, Volcash!" his set card flips face up, "I use this card's effect to switch Kaio's monster Resent Blizzardon, to defense position!" The Dinosaur curls up into a ball (**ATK: 1400-Def: 1400**)

I frowned a bit, "Why did he swap Kaio's monster to defense position, was it to increase his defense?" I mentally question.

"Nice one, big bro!" Kaio tells Rikuo, "Thanks to you, I can activate the Magic card in my hand, The Alert Ice Cave!" he says placing the Spell into the S/T Zone on his disk. "This card can increase the level of one defense position monster on my field by 1!" he explains as Resent goes from Level 4 to a 5.

"There are to LV5 Monsters!" Shark comments with worry in his voice.

"I overlay my LV5 Mince Icebergdon and Resent Blizzardon!" Kaio declares as his two monsters turn into lights and fly up into the sky, "I construct the Overlay network with these two monsters!" He chants out as the portal opens and his monsters enter into it, "Xyz Summon!" A giant Icicle appears on the field before it turns into a dinosaur covered in ice, "Come forth, Numbers 19, Freezerdon!" (**Number 19: Freezerdon, Rank 5, 2500 Def**)

"The Second Numbers!" Yuma comments from the peanut gallery.

"Why Defense Position?" I mutter to myself.

"I activate Freezerdon's effect!" Kaio announces pulling an overlay Unit from Freezerdon, "By detaching one Overlay Unit, It can resurrect all Overlay Units of my partner's Xyz Monster!" He explains as Freezerdon fires a beam of energy at Volcasaurus restoring its overlay units.

"This is going to be a pain in the ass having to deal with Mag-Mag again" I groan out.

"Resurrecting Overlay Units?" I hear Astral question beside Yuma.

"Those guys!" Shark growls out.

"I set two cards face-down, and end my turn!" Kaio says at the said cards materialize face down.

Kaio and Rikuo begin to laugh, "No one can defeat us in a tag duel!" Rikuo brags aloud.

"There is something strange about this duel." Astral comments from his spectator spot.

"So they did use tricks after all!" Shark Comments.

"Tricks?" Yuma questions.

"Hoo, what did ya say?" Kaio questions playing innocent before smirking at Rikuo.

"Stop playing Dumb, using those despicable tricks!" Shark yells at the two.

"What's he mean by "Ticks"?" Astral questions to Yuma.

"Tricks, meaning they cheated." I say pulling a lollipop from my pocket and tearing off the wrapper with my teeth and putting it into my mouth, I knew they were cheating since the very beginning, they most likely had disabled the shuffle feature on their duel disks which is why they knew what was in the others hand." I explain.

"If you knew, why didn't you say anything?" Shark snaps in question.

I smirk at him, "It's not fun if we don't give the weaklings without giving them some kind of handicap" I say with a smirk look at Shark.

Shark glares at me for a bit before smirking, "Yeah!"

"Cheated," Astral mutters to himself, "Which means they dishonored the Duel!"

"So that's why they had all Level 5 monsters at that time, and it seemed like just a coincidence!" Yuma comments to himself.

"That time too, when he used that Trap Card to purposely switch his partner's monster to defense position, and then using a magic card to raise its level for a Xyz Summon" Astral comments about what happened last turn.

"Basically, they knew the cards that they both had and will draw." I say finishing Astral's thoughts.

"If that's so, then they are no longer qualified as duelists!" Astral says in a slightly angry voice.

"True Duelists would never use these tricks!" Shark tells the Brothers.

"What do you mean using tricks?" Kaio says with an innocent shrug, "Stop assuming stuff!"

"Speaking of tricks, didn't you do the same in the National Tournament?" Rikuo taunts Shark.

"The National Tournament?" Kotori Questions.

"Wasn't that the thing Ven stopped us from looking at?" Yuma asks as well.

I sigh, I knew I couldn't stop Rikuo from revealing Shark's past

Shark gasps in shock at Rikuo's accusation.

"Champion candidate my foot!" Rikuo taunts Shark, "You're nothing but a bastard who peeked at his opponent's deck in the resting room before the Final!"

I bit my lip to prevent myself from yelling out in rage, my fist shaking hard, I tasted Iron in my mouth before realizing I had bit down too hard on my lip and made it bleed, I wipe it off with my sleeve. I look over at Shark and notice his eyes go distant as if flashing back.

"Poor Ryouga." I mentally mutter.

"Because of that, you were banished from the Duel Stage forever!" Rikuo says continuing to belittle Shark.

"I'm terrified of losing." Shark mutters to himself.

"A champion favorite actually afraid of losing?" Kaio laughs "How ugly!"

"What a hopeless guy he is!" Rikuo states.

I see Shark feel ashamed and snap at that.

"**SHUT UP!**" I yell out a pulse of aura flowing out of me, Shark opens his eyes in surprise, the two brothers immediately shut up and begin shivering. "What is so darn funny?!" I rant in my anger, "What is so funny about having a fear of losing when an important Person to you rides on your victory, you don't know what that's like so YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LAUGH!" I yell out before calming down, "I'm afraid of losing as well." I say gripping the symbol, "But I just take that fear and push forward and eventually that fear of loss turn to courage and help me push on forward." I say as I bat the Symbol and let it swing back at forth.

"Sentimental fool" Shark says with a light tone.

"Ven." I hear Kotori mutter under her breath.

"I know Shark is afraid to lose" I say before looking at him, "but you have to remember Rio will always be there for you win or lose."

Shark nods slightly.

I smile at him, "Now let's with this for Rio, because she would grill you if you lost" I tease him.

Shark gives a genuine smile and laughs. "Yeah she would."

"That's what we want to see" I tell Shark.

"Thanks Ven, for helping me find myself" Shark says as we both face the Dinosaur Brothers.

"No problem, Ryouga" I say kindly.

"What are you blabbing about?" Kaio questions.

"There's only one useful monster on your field, which can easily be destroyed by Volcasaurus, What use does it have?" RIkuo states rhetorically.

"Ventus, let's win this duel once and for all!" Shark comments with his eyes closed.

I look at him for a bit, "Yeah" I say with a smile

"My turn, Draw!" Shark yells out drawing his card, "I activate the Magic card, Xyz Gift, from my hand!" he says as the holographic version materializing on the field, "If there are two or more Xyz monsters on the field, I can draw two cards!" Shark explains as he draws his two cards.

"I Summon Spike Sunfish!" Shark announces as his fish monster appears on the field. (**Spike Sunfish, Level 3, 1500 ATK**) "Then I activate a Magic Card from my hand, Surfacing, I can special summon one Water-type Monster from my graveyard in face-up defense position!" Shark explains as he grabs a card from his graveyard and places it onto the Monster zone, "Come, Big Jaws" The shark monster appears from a torrent of water out of the graveyard portal. (**Big Jaws, Level 3, 300 Def**)

"Two Level 3's" I mutter silently.

"This is!" Yuma cheers.

"I overlay my Level 3 Spike Sunfish and Big Jaws!" Shark declares as his monsters turn into lights and fly up entering the overlay network that opens up, "I construct the Overlay Network with these two monsters!" Shark chants out, "Xyz Summon! Come forth, Black Ray Lancer!" (**Black Ray Lancer, Rank 3, 2100 Atk**)

"It's here, Black Ray Lancer" I say with a smile.

"I activate Black Ray Lancer's effect" Shark announces pulling an Overlay Unit from under Lancer. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can negate Volcasaurus's effect until the End Phase!" Lancer fires a purple energy beam at Volcasaurus.

"What?!" Rikuo yells out in shock.

"Now the Numbers can be defeated!" Yuma cheers from the peanut gallery.

"But Volcasaurus still has the higher Attack!" RIkuo points out in protest.

"How naïve, RIkuo!" Shark tells him, "I activate the effect of Spike Sunfish, when this card is send to the graveyard, Volcasarus's Atk is reduced by 500!" A silhouette of Spike Sunfish appears for a moment before launching a bunch of needles out of its mouth at Volcasaurus lowering its attack from 2500 to 2000.

"Sweet, now Volcasaurus is lower the Lancer" I comment with a smile.

"He actually made a breakthrough in this situation." I hear Astral comment in awe.

"I attack Volcasaurus with Black Ray Lancer!" Shark yells out throwing his hand forward, "Go, Black Spear!" Black Ray Lancer throws its Spear at Volcasaurus."

"Pff, Trap activate!" Kaio yells out as his face down flips open, "Compensation Exchange!"

I brace myself for the effect incase it's a dangerous one for us.

"While this card negates the attack, the player will receive damage equal to Volcasaurus's Atk." Kaio says explaining his card's effect. As the spear disappears and excess lava from Volcasaurus damages his life. (**Kaio: 500**)

"He took the hit instead" I mutter in awe before smiling internally, "Even if these guys are dishonest they still protect one another,"

"I am responsible for offense, while Kaio specializes in defense!" Rikuo explains.

"That's the way of our battle!" Kaio states.

The mental smile vanishes, "Never mind" I mentally state.

"Trap activate, The Scorching Depths, Volca Abyss!" Rikuo announces as his set card flips over, "When my partner revives effect damage, I can check my opponent's hand, and if there is a Monster Card, that card is returned to the deck!" he explains his card effect before pointing at me, "Let me confirm your hand!" A hologram appears in front of each player showing the Spell Card **Galaxy Ripple **that's in my hand.

"Tch, no monster." Rikuo hisses out.

Shark looks at me for a second, "I set one care face-down and end my turn!" he says as the set card appears face down.

"Now it's over for you!" Rikuo declares as he draws his card, "My turn, Draw!" "Ryouga, you're the first to go!" he announces, I activate the effect of Volcasaurus!" Volcasaurus Swallows an overlay unit, "It destroys one monster the opponent controls and inflicts damage equal to that monster's ATK, I destroy Black Ray Lancer and inflict its 2100 ATK as damage to Ryouga!" Rikuo announces.

"Shark!" I say in worry

"Take this, Mag-Max!" Rikuo yells out as Volcasaurus fires lava streams at Black Ray Lancer destroying it.

"Take this Ryouga!" he says as the lava spirals towards Shark.

"Trap Card Open!" I yell out as the set card flips over, **Prime Materia**, this card negates effect damage dealt to a player and gives it to them as life instead." I say as a veil covers shark as the lava hits the barrier raising his life by 2100. (**Shark: 3500**)

"I target Volcasaurus and activate the Trap Card, Hate Crevice!" Shark announces as his set card flips open, the ground below Volcasaurus begins to crumble away, "When a monster I control is destroyed by a card effect, it can destroy one monster my opponent controls and inflict its ATK as damage to the controller!" he says explaining his trap's effect as Volcasaurus slowly gets pulled underground.

"So you wanna perish together?" Kaio questions, "Trap activate, Compulsory Change!" he declares as his set card flips over, "I switch the trap target to Freezerdon!" The ground below Freezerdon crumbles to pieces as the Number falls into it. Kaio is sent flying as his life his 0 (**Kaio: 0 – ELIMINATED!)**

"Kaio!" Rikuo yells out for his fallen comrade.

"One down, one to go!" I cheer out."

"How dare you do that to my little brother" Rikuo hisses out as the Number's miasma flows, "Don't even think for a minute you'll go back alive!" He yells out in fury. "I activate the effect of Volcasaurus, I Destroy Dark Rebellion, Take this Mag-Max!" he yells out as the monster eats the overlay unit and fires the steam of lava at Dark Rebellion.

"Sorry, Dark Rebellion!" I apologize to my monster as it is destroyed. (**Ventus: 1500**)

"Playing smart, huh?" Rikuo says in the Number's induced rage, "I attack Ryouga directly with Volcasaurus!" he announces as his Number fires a pillar of lava from its mouth at Shark, I go to activate my trap but Shark silently tells me not to.

"I activate a trap, Last Entrust!" Shark yells out as his card flips over, "This card ends the battle phase!" he explains as his card's effect activates, "and then I give one card in my hand to the opponent!" he says grabbing the last card in his hand, "Ven!" Shark yells out tossing it to me, I catch it.

"Armored Xyz" I mutter reading the card's Name

"Useless Struggle!" Rikuo tells us grabbing a spell card from his hand, "I activate the Continuous Magic Card, Twin Volcano!" he declares as the spell card materializes on the field, "During my Standby Phase, it inflicts 500 damage to the opponent, additionally I can send this card to the graveyard to inflict another 500 points of damage!" he says explaining the spells effect.

"That's gonna be annoying." I mutter under my breath.

"Our Victory is assured with this" Kaio taunts.

"Prepare yourselves!" Rikuo yells out.

I smiled, I was having so much fun, I grasped my card, "My Turn, Draw!" I yell out drawing my card, I set two cards face down. "I announce as the cards materialize face down. "Then I activate the Magic Card, Card of Sanctity from my hand" I place the spell into the zone, "We each draw until we are holding 6 cards in our hand." Everyone draws until they are holding the right amount of cards.

"Heh Heh, you helped me out kid" RIkuo taunts, wither a bluff or not I didn't bite into his bait.

"I activate the set card Armored Xyz" I announce as the set card flips open

"Armored Xyz?" Rikuo Questions.

"I gave him a card that is specifically designed for Xyz Monsters." Shark tells the brothers.

"This card takes a Xyz Monster from my graveyard and equips it onto a monster on my field, I target Dark Rebellion in my graveyard and equip it onto Zenmaines." Dark Rebellion turns into an armor and equips onto Zenmaines. "The equipped monster gains attack equal to Dark Rebellions, so 2500 additional attack points" I say as Zenmaines glows with strength, "Next I switch Wind-Up Zenmaines to Attack Position" I announce turning the card as the monster stands up, (**Def:2100 –Atk:4000**)

"F-Four thousand attack?!" Rikuo stammers out, "It's enough to wipe out my life."

"BATTLE!" I yell out my eyes widening a bit, "Wind-Up Zenmaines, Attack Volcasaurus I yell out as my monster charges at the Number, "Dream Punch!"

"I activate the effect of **Bouldasta Lavasaur** from my hand!" Rikuo yells out placing the card in his graveyard, When a Dinosaur Monster I control battles an opponent's monster, by sending this card to the graveyard, I can half the battle damage taken for the rest of this turn." He explains as the monster's soul appears in front of him and takes the attack. (**Rikuo: 750**)

"Tchh annoyance, I activate the Second Effect of Armored Xyz, By Sending Dark Rebellion to the graveyard I can attack again." I explain as Dark Rebellion equips from Zenmaines and its attack lowers to 1500 and Zenmains moves into a ready to attack position.

"Heh heh, your gonna kamikaze your monster?" Rikuo taunts out.

"Nope, I just needed Dark Rebellion in the Grave." I say grabbing a card from my hand, "I activate Magical Stone Excavation, by discarding two cards, I gain a spell back from the graveyard." I place two cards in the grave before grabbing Armored Xyz and showing it to my opponent. "I Summon Wind-Up Shark." I say placing the monster on the monster zone. (**Wind-Up Shark, Level 4, 1500 Atk**)

"Useless struggle." Rikuo continues to taunts out.

"From my Hand I activate the effect of **Wind-Up Guardian**" I announce revealing my monster, "If I control a Wind-Up Monster I can special summon this card to either players side of the field, I special summon Guardian to Shark's field." I announce as the monster appears on Shark's field. (**Wind-Up Guardian, Level 3, 0 Def**)

"Heh Heh, raising your partner's defense, how pathetic" Rikuo comments.

"I activate Wind-Up Shark's effect." I announce waving my hand, "Once per turn, I can raise or lower its Level by 1, I reduce Shark to 3." The toy shark shrinks in size slightly, "I activate my face down card, Galaxy Ripple." I announce as my card flips open.

"I target one Monster on my side of the field and one on the opponent's monster and from my extra deck I special summon two monsters with the same rank as the level of the targeted monster, then the targeted monster becomes an overlay unit for the summoned xyz monster." I explain to the others, "From my extra deck I special Summon Wind-Up Zenmaity to my side of the field." I declare as the overlay network opens lightly and the Toy Carrier appears out of the overlay network. "Shark!" I say pulling a card from the extra deck and tossing at him.

Shark catches it and looks at it, "this is" he mutters before gasping it pain and falling to the ground, a **47** appearing on his hand.

"Numbers?!" Astral comments in shock.

"Why would Ven give Shark a Numebrs?" Yuma questions.

I watch Shark struggle against the Number's influence. "Come on Ryouga, you can do it!" I mutter to myself.

Shark grips his head and yells out in pain.

"_Your pathetic Ryouga._" I hear a voice say teasingly, my eyes widen in shock

"Rio." I mutter under my breath.

"I won't" Shark begins standing up slowly, "fall under your CONTROL!" He yells out standing up fully as the 47 vanishes off his hand, "Come forth Numbers 47, Nightmare Shark!" Shark yells out placing the monster over Wind-Up Guardian.

"You did it Shark" I say with a smile, "I set one card face down and end my turn" I say placing the card down.

"My turn, Draw!" Rikuo yells out drawing his card. "Now due to Twin volcano's effect, you take 500 points of damage, Suffer Ryouga!" he yells out insanely.

"Trap Card Open!" I yell out as my set card flips open, "**Inherited Will!**"

"What?" Rikuo yells out.

"Due to this cards effect' this turn I take all damage inflicted to an opponent" I explain as the fireball heading toward Shark shifts towards me, the fireball hits me as my life gets hit, (**Ventus: 1000**)

"It's over Ryouga!" Rikuo Yells out, "Volcasaurus, Attack Ryouga Directly!" Volcasaurus fires its lava at Shark, It suddenly flies over at me.

"What?!" he yells out in shock.

"Inherited Will makes me take ALL damage dealt this turn" I explain to Rikuo as the lava hits me sending me flying. (**Ven: 0**)

"VEN!" Kotori yells out.

"I activate Inherited Will's Second effect" I yell out throwing my hand into the air, "If my life points hit 0 while this card is in effect, I can target a Monster in my graveyard and a Spell or trap card in my hand and place the monster in the opponent's grave and the spell or trap into their hand." I say grabbing a card from my hand and grave and tossing it to Shark.

"Shark!" I yell out as they fly towards him. Shark catches the two cards before looking at me for s bit.

"I understand." He says placing the monster card into the graveyard.

I smile as I fall back onto the ground. (**Ventus: ELIMINATED!**)

"My turn, DRAW!" Shark yells out drawing his card. "I Activate the Magic Card Armored Xyz!" he announces as the spell materializes on the field.

"What?" Rikuo stammers in confusion, "But you gave that card to that brat, how did you get it back?

"It was the will Ventus entrusted to me." Shark calmly tells Rikuo, "I target an Xyz Monster in my graveyard and equip it onto my Nightmare Shark." Shark explains as the grave portal opens up and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon appears out of it, "I Equip Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon to Nightmare Shark."

"Impossible, That Card was never in your graveyard." Rikuo yells out in anger.

"Ventus entrusted his soul to me" Shark says casually as Dark Rebellion turns into Armor Again and equips onto Nightmare Shark.

I stand up and dust myself off. "This is our combined power" I tell them.

"I activate Nightmare Shark's Monster effect!" Shark announces as the Number Shark eats its overlay Unit, "By detaching an overlay unit it can attack you directly.

"Im-Impossible!" Rikuo stammers out.

"Go, Dark Rebellion Nightmare Shark!" Shark and I yell out Together, "Revolt of the Seas" we yell out as the Number crashes into Rikuo sending him flying.

(**Rikuo: 0 – ELIMINATED)** (**Shark/Ventus: WIN!**)

"They Won!" Kotori cheers as the AR disappears.

"Nice on, Ventus!" Tetsuo cheers.

I hold out my hand, The Symbol glows as the Numbers lift out of the gang member's bodies and fly into my hands. "Yuma!" I yell out tossing him the Numbers, he catches them and they vanish soon as he grabs them and they reappear in Astral's hands" I see him gasp as the Memory surges forth.

Astral gasps breathing heavily in shock, I frowned hoping Astral was alright I would talk to him later.

"What on earth happened to us?" Rikuo questions weakly sitting up.

"Why would we dare to steal cards?" Kaio questions as well.

They both gasp when they see Shark.

"S-Shark!" Kaio stammers out in fear.

"Run!" RIkuo yells out running away with Kaio right behind him.

"Talk about a 180." I comment about the fleeing brothers.

"What's up with those guys?" Tetsuo questions.

"Don't you ever come back!" Kotori yells at them making me chuckle.

I walked up to Tetsuo and bowed to him. "Tetsuo, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier" I apologize to him.

"Huh, what the?" Tetsuo stammers out in shock. I sense him look at Kotori for help before he sighs out calming down, "it's completely fine Ven, I might have deserved it a bit" he says with a chuckle, I straighten up and smile at him glad that we were still friends.

I turn to Shark as he walks over to me.

"Here." He says holding out Number 47 and Dark Rebellion.

I take back Dark Rebellion, "Keep it, I feel it belongs to you now" I tell him about the Numbers.

Shark looks at me for a bit before nodding and placing it into his deck case.

We fist bump each other. "See you around" I say with a smile.

"Yeah." Shark says returning the smile before getting onto his bike and driving off.

"Ven!" I hear a voice behind me, I turn to see Astral with a serious look on his face.

"Why did you let Shark keep that Number, and more importantly why didn't you tell me you had that Number." Astral questions me.

I stick my finger up my nose and casually dig around, "You never asked me if I had hunted any Numbers besides the ones you saw, and plus look at it this way we have to hunt down 100 Numbers with Shark out there helping us hunt we can achieve the process faster" I tell Astral.

I see Astral is conflicted for a bit before he nods, "I trust you Ven, and your right this would help us achieve the goal faster."

I smile at him, "I knew you would see it, now let's go home." I tell Astral as he nods and flies over to Yuma who was talking with Tetsuo.

Kotori walks over to me, "You were great Ven." She says with a smile.

"Yeah I was." I say stroking my own Ego, "come on lets go home"

Kotori chuckles a bit, "yeah" she says as we walk away from the Gallery and head towards our houses.

I stop short and look up in the air.

"Are you alright Ven?" Kotori questions looking back at me.

"There's something in the air" I say continuing to look up, "Something's coming, a storm's approaching"

"Huh?" Kotori questions in confusion.

I smile at her, "It's nothing" I say with a smile, "Race you!" I say taking off running.

"Wait Ven." Kotori yells out chasing after me as I laugh from enjoyment.

-Zexal-

Fanmade Cards:

Inherited Will: Trap Card; This turn you take all Damage a player would take, if your life points hit 0 the turn you activated this card, target 1 Monster in your graveyard and one Spell or Trap card in your hand; place the targeted monster into the opponent's graveyard and the targeted spell or trap card into the opponent's hand.

Galaxy Ripple. Spell Card: Target 1 Monster on your side of the field and 1 Monster on the opponents that has the same level; Special Summon from your Extra Deck two Xyz monsters who's rank is equal the level of the targeted monsters, one to your side of the field and one to the opponents, Attach the targeted monster as an Xyz Material. (This Summon is NOT treated as an Xyz Summon)

Wind-Up Guardian, (Effect Monster Earth, Rock, Level 3, 0 Atk, 0 Def): If you Control a Wind-Up Monster, you can special summon this card to either player's side of the field. Once while this card is face up on the field; this card cannot be destroyed by battle or by card effect.

Bouldasta Lavasaur, Effect Monster, (Fire, Dinosaur, Level 1, 100 Atk, 0 Def.). If a Dinosaur Monster you control battles an opponent's monster, you can send this card to the graveyard, halve the battle damage you take from that battle.

Prime Materia, Counter Trap Card: When you take effect Damage, Increase your life by the same amount instead.


	12. Chapter 12: Soul Hunt! Rise of the

**Chapter 12: Soul Hunt! Rise of the Numbers Hunter!**

"Man I really need to watch what I wish for." I thought to myself as an Obot came crashing down in front of Yuma, Kotori and I from the top of the mall where a Thug was holding up the place. It had started as a simple invite by Kotori to go to the mall with her. I had agreed as I enjoyed hanging out with her but as with any guy I eventually got bored with the shopping and silently wished that something exciting would happen.

"Well, you reap what you sow." I mutter under my breath looking at the Obot in front of me before I look back up to watch the situation.

"How Annoying!" The Thug cries out from the top level of the mall waving what looks to be a metal bat. "This damn Trashbot!"

Clean…ning, Clean…ning" The Obot weakly states its head spinning around.

"What's going on?" I question softly looking up.

"What are you going to do with my conditions?" The Thug questions.

"Conditions?" I mentally muse.

"Don't you worry about the safety of those hostages?" The Thug questions again.

"Hostages?!" I mentally question in anger my fist clenched.

"Money, hurry up and prepare some money!" The thug yells at the police. "And a Helicopter"

I silently watch the news broadcast on the Screen in front of us.

"Now the criminal who is inside the shopping mall demands cash and a helicopter for running away" The news anchor states.

"This is bad, a big incident" Yuma comments.

I nod, "I just wish I could do something.

Kotori gently puts her hand on my shoulder and smiles at me, "You don't have to take on all the worlds burdens Ven.

I smile at her feeling a bit more relaxed. "Yeah" I say feeling more at ease turning back to the situation. "But is someone doesn't take on this world's suffering who will?" I mentally question to myself.

Yuma's D-gazer suddenly rings, he picks it up.

"Yuma, you're in the Shopping Mall right now, aren't you?" Akari's voice questions from the Phone.

"What are you talking about?" Yuma weakly protests. "I.. eh…school, I'm still in school, and so is Ven were both still in school"

"Yuma" I say softly before flicking him in the head, "Don't bring me into your problems" I then point at the screen, "plus it's showing us on the TV."

"Yuma!" Akari hisses slightly at Yuma.

"Yes?!" Yuma yells out in a panic.

"I know you were there for sure, like Ven just said you're already on TV!" Akari tells Yuma.

Yuma looks up and sees himself on the screen, "Ahh, they're recording me!" He yells out in a panic.

I smirk, "You're a celebrity Toma"

"Urusai!" Yuma bites out.

"Do you understand?" Akari questions Yuma, "Hurry up and shoot some scoop photos for me!" she orders Yuma before hanging up.

"If you say so, Geez" Yuma grumbles out.

I turn back to the Screen to get a better grasp of the situation.

"Besides the helicopter for getting away" The newswomen states while the Thug was yelling for the police to "Hurry up and provide him those things!"

I notice out of the corner of my eye the Emperor's Key glow as Astral materialized.

"What a scary face he has!" Yuma comments about the Thug's face.

I shrug, "I've seen scarier, I paused at that thought "I have, when?" I mentally question.

"Look Yuma, Ven It's Numbers!" Astral points out.

I look at the Thug more closely and see a **56** on his Shoulder, "Your right" I tell Astral.

"The criminal actually has a Numbers?" Yuma mutters silently.

I give him a look, "You know what we have to do then"

Yuma nods before trying to pass through a crowd of people, "Please let me pass, sorry" he says pushing through them.

"Sorry, Excuse us." I say as I follow Yuma.

"Yuma, Ven!" Kotori calls after us.

"We'll be back Koto" I tell her with a thumbs up as I follow Yuma.

A bit later we were heading up the stairs toward the higher levels, "Let, let me pass please" Yuma yells out passing some people on the escalators.

I ran up behind Yuma when he stopped and looked up, I looked up as well Sensing an additional presence outside the building.

"What is that?" I mentally question.

"Eh, what the heck is that?" Yuma questions as we both see a flying figure over the skylight.

"Shit, What happened to the money they promised me?!" I hear the thug demand.

I see the glass of the skylight shatter to pieces as someone lands in front of the Thug before a giant flash enveloped the world.

-Zexal—

I blinked, "What happened?" I question before noticing Yuma was gone. "Oi, Yuma Where are you?!" I call out.

"Be quiet" a nearby lady criticizes me.

"Sorry" I say running the back of my head, "Old Bat!" I mentally comment keeping a straight face while looking around for Yuma.

"What's happening? That boy." I hear the police Yell from the top floor

"Boy?" I question softly looking up, "Yuma how did you get up there?" I mentally question as Yuma was 5 levels up and I had been right behind him.

"LET'S GET HIM!" another police member yells before they all tackle Yuma.

"Ouch!" I say with a wince as Yuma gets attacked. "But what happened after that flash?" I mentally question crossing my arms.

-Zexal—

"Numbers Hunter?" I question Astral who had told me what happened while we were walking home.

"Yes" Astral says with a nod, "Time stopped and someone was dueling the holder, when Yuma and I got to where he was down and for some reason his hair was turned pure white and the number was gone.

"Interesting." I muse while my mind was processing all this new information, "Seems like there is a new player in this game" I mentally muse, "and if Yuma and that thug could move while time was stopped but I couldn't, then that must mean that only the Number holders can move when time is stopped"

I silently walk along letting my thoughts simmer, I feel Kotori giving me a worried look but I give her a soft smile.

I felt a shock surge through my body as I fall to my knees my head pulsing in agony causing me to grip it and yell out in pain as the screams of pure terror from many souls tear through my own soul, as quickly as it starts it passes.

"Ven, Are you alright?!" Kotori asks in worry kneeling down to support me.

"Y-Yeah" I say weakly standing up, "Wh-What was that?' I mentally question.

-Zexal—

Later that night Akari was watching the latest news coverage of the incident in the shopping mall and it showed Yuma being pinned down along with the thug.

"They boy who was caught with the bandit, accidently appeared between the policemen and criminal." The newswomen says.

"So you became the spotlight of my special features?!" Akari questions Yuma

"Somehow Yuma got mixed up in the crime scene." Kotori comments.

"Oi Ven why didn't you stop Yuma?" Akari questions me.

"What happened to that Number holder?" I mentally muse, "It looked like he lost his soul or something."

"VENTUS!" Akari yells in my ear causing me to yell out in shock and fall to the ground.

"Ow, geez Akari" I say rubbing my ringing ear.

"Daijoubu?" Akari asks giving me a worried look.

"Y-Yeah, Just got a lot of my mind" I state weakly.

Akari gives me a look before smiling "Alright, if you say so."

"But how did you do that?" Kotori questions Yuma about the incident in the mall.

"Eh, don't worry about those details." Yuma protests weakly.

"Geez" Kotori groans out.

I chuckle a bit at their antics, "You guys always know how to make me feel better"

"Yuma, do you need to tell her about Numbers?" Astral inquires about telling Akari.

I mentally raise an eyebrow.

"Are you an idiot?" Yuma badly stage whispers to Astral, "My sister never allows me to duel, how can I tell her that?"

I notice Akari roll up closer to Yuma in her chair, "Ehh?" She enquires of Yuma.

"Eh, No-Nothing" Yuma stammers out.

"You, don't tell me…" Akari interagates Yuma. trailing off being purposely vague.

"It's not like that, I didn't duel" Yuma weakly protests, "T-Tell her Ven"

"Yes, Tell me Ventus" Akari says looking at me.

"Ask no question and I shall tell no lie" I say with putting my hands in my pockets.

"Numbers Hunter" I hear Astral mutter softly.

"Astral." I mutter under my breath in worry for my friend and who I've come to call little brother.

-Zexal—

Later that night I was up in Yuma's room with Him and Astral.

"Yuma." Astral says gaining Yuma's attention.

"What is it?" Yuma grumbles out.

"If besides me, there are other people collecting Numbers" Astral comments.

"Something about that Numbers Hunter, huh?" Yuma says in a slightly dis interested tone.

I flip the hammock making Yuma crash into the floor, "Take this seriously!" I snap at him, "You hold Numbers therefore you are a target as well this isn't a game anymore" I rant out before calming down

"Ow-chi-chi" Yuma groans out rubbing his back.

"Ven is right, one day the Hunter will probably come after me" Astral tells Yuma. "It won't take too long for that Hunter to find you."

I cross my arms in thought, "or maybe he already found you due to the mall incident." I comment.

"It's a possibility" Astral comments.

"What the, are you trembling?!" Yuma asks Astral standing up

I look closer and notice Astral is indeed shaking a tiny bit, "Poor Guy" I comment inside my head.

"Then watch how I duel, and win in my way!" Yuma says oozing confidence"

I chuckle at Yuma's antics feeling loads better. "All joking aside, be sure to take this matter seriously It's not a thing your Bring it to 'em spirit can handle"

"I'll show you" Yuma says sticking out his tongue.

I just give him a wave and jump down to my room and climb into bed. "It seems like things are developing faster than I thought" I mentally comment as I wrap myself in the blankets and fall into dreamland.

-Zexal—

I was sitting in the class room at the table next to Kotori while Takashi was sitting in the seat in front of us backwards to he would face us while Yuma and Tetsuo was standing up.

"There is a huge Duel square in the neighboring town!" Tetsuo tells us.

"Nice, let's check that out on Sunday!" Yuma comments.

I nod, "Would be nice to relax with all the Number stuff that's been going on." I say adding my two cents.

"I'll let them witness my bringing it to 'em" Yuma states to no one in particular.

I smirk, "If you can win, then why not" I say in a teasing tone.

"Oi!" Yuma bites out as everyone in the group chuckles at our brotherly antics.

-Zexal-

"This is a fun place." I comment looking over all the duels going on.

"Yeah, I'm gonna bring it to em!" Yuma yells out to the sky.

"Oi Yuma, Let's see who can get more wins." I tell him sliding my duel disk onto my arm.

"You're on." Yuma says with a grin before running off.

I look over at Kotori who came with up, "You gonna go with me or Yuma?"

Kotori smiles, "I'll stick by you Ven."

I smile back at her before we run off into the crowds.

-Zexal—

"Not to challenging" I mutter as the tenth opponent's life hit zero.

"You're doing great Ven" Kotori says with a fist pump.

"Yeah." I say with a giving her a high five.

"Auuuuuuuggggghhhhhhhh!" a scream tears through the air.

"What was that?" Kotori questions, gripping my arm in worry.

I look around, "This way" I tell her running toward the source of the scream.

-Zexal—

A short bit later we came across a women wearing a white and purple kimono that went down to her upper thigh with a purple ribbon, her hair was tied up in a ponytail and she had flowers dangling from her ears. (Think of what Maya Fey from Phoenix Wright wears)

"Pathetic" the women says kicking a man on the ground, "you're not worthy of even being my slave peasant.

She goes to kick him again and I block it with my foot.

"Who dares?!" the women yells out.

"Oi, Oi don't kick someone when there down." I scold her.

"Who are you to stop Queen Flora?" the so called Queen Flora enquires of me.

I hear the chirping of birds, "That's!" I mentally comment recognizing the sound, I activate my duel disk. "I'm the one who will dethrone you." I tell her.

Flora begins to laugh, "Interesting, you amuse me peasant" she says as a miasma flows as a **49** appears on her neck

"I was right" I mentally comment.

"I'll teach you your place" Flora says activating a flower D-Pad"

"DUEL!" Flora and I yell out. (**Flora: 4000**) (**Ventus: 4000**)

"Good luck Ven!" Kotori cheers from the side lines.

"Royalty before peasants" Flora declares, "My Turn, Draw!" she yells out drawing her card. "I summon Lonefire Blossom." She announces as a plant type Monster appears. (**Lonefire Blossom, Level 3, 500 Atk**) "I activate Lonefire's Monster effect" Flora declares, "By releasing my weak servant" Lonefire is enveloped in light as a new monster appears, "I can summon a stronger servant from my army, come out, Flowerbot" (**Flowerbot, Level 3, 1500 Atk**)

"She's mastered this deck it seems like." I mentally comment with a smirk, "Interesting"

"I activate the effect of Rose Rook from my hand." Flora says holding up a card in her hand, "If I control a Plant type monster, I can special Summon this card to the field." She says as a new monster appears on the field (**Rose Rook, Level 3, 1000 Atk**)

"Two level three's" I observe silently, "is it coming?"

"I overlay my Level 3 Flowerbot and Rose Rook" Flora declares throwing her hand into the air as her two monsters turn into lights and fly up into the air, "With these two monsters I construct the overlay network." She chants out as the two monsters enter the overlay network, "Xyz Summon, Sing out, Number 49 Fortune Tune!"

A twig appears in the air, it begins to spin around before a beak comes out and grabs onto it before resting on Flora's shoulder. (**Number 49 Fortune Tune, Rank 3, 900 Def**)

I frowned, "bit of a low attack, we'll have to see what its effect is."

"I set two cards and end my turn." Flora says as her cards materializes face down.

"My Turn, Draw!" I yell out drawing my card before looking at my hand. "I Activate Galaxy Wave" I say placing the spell card into the spell and trap card zone, "Next I normal Summon Wind-Up Dog" The toy dog appears on the field. (**Wind-Up Dog, Level 3, 1200 Atk**)

"Are we here to duel, or play with toys little boy?" Flora taunts me.

I ignore her, "I activate the effect of Wind-Up Shark from my Hand." I say revealing the said card in my hand, "When I summon a Wind-Up Monster, I can special summon this card from my hand." I say placing the card on the monster zone as the toy shark appears out of a torrent of water.

"Oh." Flora says with a teasing smirk, "Bringing out more toys huh?"

"I activate Wind-Up Dog and Shark effects to raise both of their Levels to 5" (**Wind-Up Dog, Level 3-5, 1200ATk-1800Atk**) (**Wind-Up Shark, Level 4-5**)

I see Flora's face show slight interest.

"I overlay my Level 5 Wind-Up Shark and Wind-Up Dog!" I declare throwing my hand into the air as the toy monsters turn into lights and fly up into the air "With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network" I chant as the red style overlay network opens and the two monsters enter into it, "Xyz Summon, Annihilate Wind-Up Zenmaioh!" (**Wind-Up Zenmaioh, Rank 5, 2600 Atk**)

The galaxy wave network begins to pulse. "Galaxy Wave's effect" I announce, "When I Xyz Summon a monster you take 500 points of damage." I explain as a pulse comes out of the portal and hits Flora.

"Tchh, annoying pest" Flora growls out, (**Flora: 3500**)

"I now activate Wind-Up Zenmaioh's effect" I say pulling the overlay network from the monster and placing it into the graveyard. "By detaching an Overlay Unit I can destroy two set cards on the field, I destroy your two set cards." I announce pointing at the two set cards, zenmaioh fires its drill arm at the two set cards destroying them.

Flora chuckles a bit before bursting out into a somewhat evil laugh, "Pathetic fool, you didn't think I would prepare for this did you?"

"What?" I yell out in shock and slight worry.

The grave portal opens up and the trap card I just destroyed was shown, "I activate the effect of Aromassence." Flora announces, "When this card is sent to the graveyard by a card effect I can reap its bountiful benefits and gain 1000 life points."

"This is gonna be a problem" I mutter under by breath as flora's life goes up by 2000 (**Flora: 3500-5500**)

"I set one card and end my turn." I say as my set card appears face down.

"My turn little peasant" Flora taunts out, "My turn, Draw!" she says drawing her card.

Fortune Tune Begins to flow a bit, "Due to my pet's effect I gain 500 life points." Flora says as the glow covers her and her life is increased. (**Flora: 6000**)

"Tchh, more life gaining" I growl out

"I activate the continuous spell Miracle Fertilizer" she says placing the card into the spell and trap card zone, "With this card I can summon a plant type monster from my graveyard once per turn, however if the summoned monster leaves the field this spell is destroyed."

"Depending on how she plays this it could be quite the problem." I mentally comment.

"Sprout once more, Lonefire blossom!" Flora yells out as her monster appears from the graveyard portal. (**Lonefire Blossom, Level 3, 500 Atk**) "Next I activate the effect of Lonefire, by releasing this monster I special summon a plant type monster from my deck, sprout Aromgae – Bergamot, (**Aromage – Bergamot, Level 6, 2400 Atk**) "Since Lonefire left the field, my Miracle Fertilizer is destroyed" she says as the spell self-destructs.

"A level 6 monster" I comment with a raised eyebrow.

"Next I activate the field spell Armoa Garden" she says placing the card into the special zone on her duel disk as the scenery changes to a formal garden.

"Pretty" I hear Kotori comment.

"I activate Aroma Garden's effect" Flora says with the wave of her hand, "Once per turn I can gain 500 life points." A gentle fragrance flowed from the garden and Flora breathed it in as her life went up again, (**Flora: 6500**)

"Next thanks to my garden's pleasant aroma, all my monster's gain 500 Attack and Defense." She explains as her monsters grow in size slightly, (**Aromage – Bergamot, 2400 ATk – 2900 Atk**) (**Number 49 Fortune Tune, 900 Def – 1500 Def**) "This change lasts until the end of your next turn." She explains.

"This is gonna be more annoying than I thought." I mentally comment.

"Next Bergamot's effect activates." Flora says as her monster lets out a cry, "When I gain life points this monster gains 1000 Attack and Defense until the end of your turn" She explains as the monster grows even larger, (**Bergamot, 2900 Atk – 3900 Atk**) "Battle, Bergamot attacks Zenmaioh!" She says yelling out as she points at my monster.

"Trap card open" I say hitting a button on my duel disk, "Overwind, due to this cards effect my Wind-Up's attack and defense is doubled until the end phase of this turn." I explain as Zenmaioh grows in size.

"Foolish peasant, you didn't think I would prepare for that did you?" Flora tuts out.

"Nani?" I yell out.

"From my hand I activate the quick play spell, Forbidden Lance" she says placing a card from her hand into the duel disk. "Your monster may lose 800 attack points" she says with a malicious smirk "But as a wonderful bonus it gains immunity from all spells and traps this turn, oh dear this could be a problem for you." "She says grinning more evilly.

"No Zenmaioh" I yell out as his attack drops down to 1800 before it is anihalated by Bergamots attack. I brace myself as the destruction sent out a pulse that sends me flying.

(**Ventus: 1900**)

"Ven!" I hear Kotori yell out in worry.

"I'm fine" I say weakly standing up.

"Oh, I doubt that will be true for long little peasant" She says with a teasing smirk.

"We'll see." I say with a competitive smirk.

"You got spirit, I'll give you that." Flora comments, "Turn End" she says finishing her Turn.

"My Turn, Draw!" I yell out drawing my card. I decided to go defensive since she had such a high powered monster out, "I summon Wind-Up Knight" I say putting the monster onto the duel disk, the toy paladin appears from the ground. (**Wind-Up Knight, Level 4, 1800 Atk**) "I set two cards and End my turn" I say placing the last two cards in my hand.

"So you've seen it's pointless" Flora says before smirking, "Good, My Turn Draw!" she says drawing her card.

"My pet once again gives me its bounty" Flora says as her life is raised by 500 from Fortune Tunes effect. (**Flora: 6500**) "Since my life was raised Bergamot gains 1000 Attack." She announces as the Monster goes up to 3400.

"Next I activate the effect of Flowerbot that was just detached as an overlay Unit, If this card is send to the graveyard, I draw a card and take another from my hand and place it onto the top of my deck." She explains drawing a card and taking another and placing it onto the top of the deck "I summon Aromage – Rosemary" she says placing the card onto the monster space as a blue maiden appears from the ground. (Aromage – Rosemary, Level 4, 1800 Atk)

"I activate my garden's effect once again to raise my life by 500" she says as the garden unleashes the fragrance again raising her life by 500 once more." (**Flora: 7000**)

"Her life is almost double its original value." I mutter to myself.

"Next my lovely garden raises my monsters attack strength "Flora says as her monsters slightly grow in size. (**Bergamot: 3400 – 3900 Atk**) (**Rosemary: 1800 – 2300**)

"This is gonna be a problem" I groan out.

"BATTLE!" Flora yells out a slightly crazed look in her eye. "Rosemary Attacks your wanna be knight" she says pointing at Wind-Up Knight.

"I activate Wind-Up Knights Effect" I say throwing my hand into the air.

"Useless, no one can stand up against the queen, When Rosemary attacks you can't activate any Monster effects." Flora says as my toy knight is forced to the ground from a pressure.

"What?" I yell out in shock as Knight is destroyed, I brace myself as my life drops once again. (**Ventus: 1400**)

"Your Life is like a candle in the wind ready to be snuffed out" Flora taunts out, "Now Bergamot finish him off." She says pointing at me, the Monster charges at me"

"Ventus!" Kotori yells out in worry.

"Trap Card Open!" I yell out hitting a button on my duel disk. "Magic Cylinder, due to this trap's effect when you attack that attack is negated and then you take damage equal to the monster that attacked me."

"Teme!" Flora hisses out in pure fury as the attack is redirected at her and sends her flying. (**Flora: 3100**)

"Awesome Ven, you reduced her life" Kotori cheers out.

Flora begins to growl before yelling out in fury "How Dare You harm your queen" she yells out the miasma flowing. "I set 1 card and end my turn."

"My Turn, Draw!" I yell out drawing my card, I smiled this could help me turn things around. "I Activate Spellbook inside the Pot" I say placing the card into my spell and trap card zone, due to this card's effect we each draw 3 cards" I explain as we each draw our three cards."

"Thanks for your contribution Peasant" Flora comments as she draws her own cards.

"Next I play Book of Moon" I say placing the card into my duel disk, "I set your Number Monster Face down" I explain as Fortune Tune is flipped face down.

Flora growls even more in anger.

"Trap Card Open!" I yell out with a swipe of my hand as my other set card flips up, "Xyz Reborn, I revive Wind-Up Zenmaioh from the graveyard "I say as the Wind-Up Xyz rises out of the Graveyard. (**Wind-Up Zenmaioh, Rank 5, 2600 Atk**) "Then Xyz Reborn becomes an overlay unit for Zenmiaoh." I explain as the trap turns into an Overlay unit and surrounds my monster. "Next I use Zenmaioh's effect to destroy the Set Number 49 and your Spell or Trap" I say pulling the card from under Zenmaioh as it fires at the two set cards.

"It doesn't matter is that weak toy is back, it doesn't matter in the bit" Flora yells out hitting a button on her duel disk activating her set card, "Poison of the Old Man"

"Which of the two card effects will she use?" I mentally question realizing that card.

"oh, it seems like you recognize this card" Flora says with a taunting smirk, "I use this old man's potion to raise my Life by 1200**" **She says as the old man hands her a vial that she takes and drinks. "Ah refreshing" she says with an evil smirk (**Flora: 4300**) "And since my life was raised Bergamot gains 1000 attack until the end of your turn, and since the last boost is still in effect they stack together" She says with a smirk. (**Aromage – Bergamot 3900 – 4900 Atk**)

"Tchh, more life raising" I growl out, "But at least your Number is destroyed" I say as a silhouette of Fortune tune is shown as the card is shattered to pieces.

"And due to Rosemary's effect, since I gained Life I change your monster to defense mode" Flora says as Zenmaioh kneels down and turns a blue shade. (**Wind-Up Zenmaioh, 2600 Atk – 1900 Def**)

"Useless!" I hiss out, "I use Wind-up Zenmaioh as Xyz Material and rebuild the overlay Network" I say as the Xyz Monster enters the overlay network once more.

"What?!" Flora yells out in shock, "Using an Xyz Monster as Overlay material?"

"Xyz Summon, Gaia Dragon, The Thunder Charger!" I yell out as the Dragon knight descends from the sky. (**Gaia Dragon, The Thunder Charger, Rank 7, 2600 Atk**) "Since I Xyz Summoned a monster you take 500 points of damage from Galaxy Wave" I say in reminder.

Flora just growls out in what seems to be an incoherent grumble as her life drops. (**Flora: 3800**)

"Battle!" I yell out "Gaia Dragon Attack Rosemary" I say pointing at the humanoid plant. The Dragon Zyz tears into the monster obliterating it sending Flora back a bit (**Flora: 3500**)

Flora growls out before full out laughing "Baka!" She says crazily.

"What?!" I yell out in worry"

A red fragrance flows from the garden, "When an Aroma monster is destroyed by battle I gain 1000 life points" She says with a smirk as her life raises once again. (**Flora: 4500**)

"That is gonna be annoying!" I growl out before looking at the other two cards I drew, "This will help greatly" I mentally Comment. "I set two cards face down and end my turn" I say as the cards materialize face down.

"At this time Bergamot returns to Normal" Flora says as her monster shrinks down to regular size (**Aromage – Bergamot, 4900 Atk * 2400 Atk**) "My Turn, Draw!" She says drawing her card she looks at the card she drew before grinning wildly. "First I shall gain my garden's benefits" she says as the garden unleashes its aroma once more.

"Now!" I yell out, "Continuous Trap Open!" I yell out with a swipe of my hand. "Bad Reaction to Simochi!"

"No!" Flora yells out in rage.

"Oh, it seems like you recognize it" I say with a smirk, "Due to this card's effect if you would gain life points you lose the same amount instead."

"Bastard peasant!" Flora yells out as the fragrance from the garden turns a poisonous color and her life is reduced. (**Flora: 4000**) "I banish Lonefire blossom from my graveyard to equip your Gaia Dragon the Thunder Charger with Mark of the Rose." She says placing Lonefire into her pocket as a flower mark appears on my Monster.

"What is this?" I question before my monster goes over to her side, "What, where are you going?" I question my monster.

"To his rightful place" Flora says royally, "Due to this card's effect I gain control of your monster until the end of my turn, but regain control during my turn."

"This is bad!" I hear Kotori comment.

"The little girl is right" Flora says with a smirk, "Battle, Annihilate your former master!" she yells out with a twitch in her eye. "It's Over!"

"Nooooo!" Kotori screams out.

The explosion from the attack enshrouds me from sight.

"It's over, no one can defeat the rightful queen!" Flora says with a laugh.

"Whew that was close." I say as the dust cloud dissipates showing a face up trap card.

"Why don't you DIE?!" Flora yells out in fury.

"Ven." I hear Kotori sigh in relief.

"Storming Mirror Force" I say announcing the trap card's name.

"Storming Mirror Force?" I hear Kotori Question.

"Due to this trap card's effect, when you declare an attack I return all Attack Position Monsters the Hand.

"What?!" Flora hisses under her breath as Gaia Dragon returns to my extra deck and Bergamot returns to her hand.

"Good Job Ven!" Kotori cheers with a fist pump.

"All my cards are useless due to that continuous trap" I hear Flora grumble under her breath. "I Set one Monster and End my Turn!"

"My Turn, DRAW!" I yell out pulling the card from my deck. "You came" I mentally say with a smile. "I summon Wind-Up Rat (**Wind-Up Rat, Level 3, 600 Atk**)

"Aww what a cute and USELESS toy" Flora comments.

"Don't call my monsters useless" I yell at her at Rat gives out a springy squeak.

"Oh, but it's true" Flora says with indifference.

"I Activate Rat's effect" I say turning Rat into defense position, "Once while this card is face up by turning it into defense position I can bring back a Wind-Up Monster from my graveyard." I explain as the graveyard portal opens. "Be reborn Wind-Up Shark" I say as the toy shark rises from the portal. (**Wind-Up Shark, Level 4, 1500 Atk**)

"Pointless" Flora comments.

I just shrug, "I activate Shark's effect, once per turn I can raise or lower its level by 1, I reduce Shark to level 3"

"Two Level 3 monsters huh?" I hear her comment in bored disinterest.

I throw my hand into the air, "I Overlay my level 3 rat and shark." I say as my two monsters enter the red overlay network, "Xyz Summon, Sail Forth Wind-Up Zenmaity!" I exclaim as the toy carrier appears onto the field. (**Wind-Up Zenmiaty, Rank 3, 1500 Atk**)

"Galaxy wave's effect!" I announce.

"Let me guess, I take 500 life points of damage" Flora says in a bored tone.

"your paying attention." I say with a teasing smirk as the overlay network lets out an energy pulse that hits Flora making her growl in anger. (**Flora: 3500**)

"This is going around in circles" I hear Kotori comment about Flora's life points.

"Next I activate Zenmiaty's effect" I announce as I pull the overlay unit off the toy carrier, "Once per turn, by Detaching an overlay unit I special summon a Wind-Up monster from my deck." I say as a card ejects from my deck. "Come out, Wind-Up Juggler!" I say placing the card onto the monster zone. (**Wind-Up Juggler, Level 4, 1700 Atk**)

"Oh look, the fool is here as well!" Flora comments.

"This fool will destroy you." I say with a smirk, "Battle, Juggler attacks your face down monster" I say pointing at her set card.

Flora smirks as the card flips over, "Aroma Pot" she says with a smirk, due to this monster's effect when its flipped face up it can't be destroyed by battle. (**Aroma Pot, Level 1. 400 Def**)

I smirked, "It doesn't matter"

"What?" Flora growls out.

"Wind-Up Juggler's effect, when this card battles your monster at the end of the damage calculation I can destroy that monster, however I can only do that once while this card is face up."

Flora growls out as her potted monster cracks before exploding.

"Now Zenmaity direct attack!" I say pointing at Flora.

Flora yells out as the force of the attack sends her flying. (**Flora: 2000**)

"Now since the battle is over, I can use the Rank 3 Wind-Up Zenmaity as an overlay unit and rebuild the Overlay network" I say as my monster re-enters the Overlay network.

"This again" Flora comments boredly.

"Xyz Summon, Come forth Downerd Magician!" I say as the girl alchemist appears, (**Downerd Magician, Rank 4, 2100 Atk**) "Due to this monster's effect it gains 200 attack for each Xyz material on it." I explain as Downerd's attack raises to 2500 "And since I Xyz Summoned a monster Galaxy Wave deals you 500 points of damage." (**Flora: 1500**)

"Turn End." I say putting my hands to my side.

"My turn, DRAW!" Flora yells out in a frenzy. She looks at her draw before growling. "I set a monster face down and set 5 cards face down, Turn End." She says with disappointment in her voice. As she sets her entire hand onto the field.

"My Turn, DRAW!" I yell out drawing my card, I smirked at the card I drew. "Battle, Downerd Magician attacks your set monster" I say pointing at the monster. "Since Downerd declared battle, I must detach an Overlay Unit, causing Downerd to go down to 2300 Atk.

"I'll take a page from your book." Flora says with a smirk, "Trap Card open, Magic Cylinder" she says as the card flips over.

"And I'll take a page out of your book" I say with a smirk

"What?" she says with slight interest.

"Quick Play Magic Activate" I say placing the spell into the correct zone. "Forbidden Lance"

"I see" Flora says with a smirk as Downerd attack is lowered by 800"

"Now continue the battle." I tell Downerd as Flora's monster flips over. (**Dandylion, Level 3, 300 Def**)

"Downerd Inflicts piercing damage" I explain as Downerd hits Dandylion causing the plant lion to scream out, as the pulse of power sends Flora flying once more. (**Flora: 300**)

Flora stands up and dusts herself off, "Annoying Pest, Due to Dandylion's effect I special summon two Fluff Tokens to my side of the field." She explains as two fluffy plants appear on her side of the field. (**Fluff Token, Level 1, 0 Def**)

"This could be annoying depending on her next draw" I mutter to myself softly. "Turn End!" I say in a tone she can hear.

"My turn" Flora says drawing her card before smirking. "I Release my two Fluff Tokens." She says as the two tokens are enveloped in light and merge into one. "Advance Summon, Come out Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms!" (**Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms, Level 8, 2800 Atk**) "Talaya gains 100 for each plant monster I control" Flora says as an aura surrounds the princess and her power raises to 2900.

"Is she gonna use her set cards?" I mentally question.

"Battle!" Flora yells out, "Talaya attacks Downerd Magician." She says as the plant princess generates a vine and whips it at Downerd Magician.

"Since Downerd Battled I must detach an Overlay unit" I say pulling an Overlay unit as Downerd's power goes down to 2100 Atk, she shrieks in pain as the Vine hits her and she is destroyed.

"Sorry Downerd." I say putting the card into the Graveyard as my life goes down. (**Ventus: 600**)

"Turn End." Flora says with a confident smirk.

"Why hasn't she used her set cards, maybe they are just bluffs" I mentally comment before shaking my head. "Whatever." I say before griping my deck, "My Turn, Draw!" I yell out drawing my card.

Flora makes a hand motion, "Make your weak struggle"

"I play the Spell Pot of Greed." I say placing the spell into the spell and trap card zone, "I draw two Cards." I say drawing the cards, before smirking at my draws. "I Play Cold Wave" I say placing the spell into the duel disk as a chilling wind sweeps over the field. "I don't like using this card normally but I have to finish this duel quickly."

"C-C-C-Cold" I hear Kotori chatter out.

"Due to this card's freezing effects all of our Spell and Trap cards are frozen Until my next turn." I explain as the entire field is covered in ice.

"What?" Flora growls out.

"Next I Summon Wind-Up Kitten." I say calling out my toy cat. (**Wind-Up Kitten, Level 2, 800 Atk**)

"Kawaii!" I hear Kotori squeal out.

"Yes, yet it is somewhat cute, but what can it do it has way less attack points then Talaya." Flora comments in a bored tone.

"Oh?" I say with a smirk. "Wind-up Kitten's Effect." I say with a throw of my hand. "Once while this card is face up on the field I can return a Monster on your field to the hand."

"What?!" Flora yells out as the toy kitten swipes cutely at the cherry princess causing her to blush before returning to her hand.

"Battle!" I yell out my eyes widening a bit. "Wind-Up Kitten attack Flora directly!" the toy kitten charges at Flora and Scratches her.

"Im-Impossible." Flora stutters out at the attack comes closer "Nooooooo!" Flora yells out as she is sent flying. (**Flora: 0**) (**Ventus: WIN!"**

"You did it Ven" Kotori says giving a fist pump.

"Yeah, your cheering helped me." I say smiling at her.

Kotori blushes and turns to hide her face.

I reach out and the Regnant's symbol glows as the Number lifts out of Flora and comes into my hand. "Hopefully she will be nicer without this" I say mentally.

"Hey You!" Flora says standing up

"Yeah?" I say with a raised eye brow.

Flora begins to go into a large rant that makes my eyes widen in shock and my mouth drop open as Kotori gasps and covers her mouth, the language coming out her mouth made a sailor look tame. It seemed like the Number actually had made Flora tamer then crazy.

"Let's get out of here" I mutter to Kotori.

"Yeah" Kotori agrees as we both leave to go reunite with Yuma and Astral.

-Zexal-

"Ah, that was a close one" Yuma comments as we were walking home, "If I had decided to attack then, Right Ven, Kotori?" he questions about that last duel we had saw him doing.

"Geez, didn't you lose all your matches?" Kotori says teasing Yuma.

I chuckle at that, "I can't believe you didn't even beat the newbies that were there." I point out.

"Hey, bringing it to 'em means endless challenges!" Yuma says in protest.

"And endless stupidity" I whisper to Kotori gaining a chuckle.

"Oi what's so funny" Yuma questions

"Nothing" I say weakly waving off the subject. "We should hurry, it's about to rain" I say as I smell the change of moisture in the air.

The Emperors Key glows as Astral materializes from it.

"Yuma, Ven looks like we should be on guard!" Astral tells us

I concentrated and felt a presence hovering over us. "I have a bad feeling" I comment.

"Myself as Well" Astral comments.

"Here we go again." Yuma grumbles at Astral.

"What Happened?" Kotori Questions.

"Nothing" I say gripping her shoulder and giving her a let it go look.

"Yeah Nothing" Yuma weakly stammers out as the rain starts to come down like cats and dogs.

"Rain," Kotori mutters putting her hand out to catch a drip.

"Darn it, it's raining, let's go Kotori, Ven!" Yuma yells as he takes off in a run.

"Yuma!" Kotori yells after him.

"Yuma, Don't Run!" I scold him before running after him.

"Whoa" Yuma Yells out as he slides a bit before running across the cross walk with me right behind him.

"You're So Slow, Kotori" Yuma says in taunts. "Ow!" he whines out as I drive my fist into his head.

"Geez, Wait!" Kotori yells out covering her head with her hands.

A loud honking fills the air as a truck comes closer and closer to Kotori, I feel fear grip my heard "No, not again" seems to fill my thoughts, My legs tense up as I feel myself run towards Kotori.

"MELI!" I feel myself yell out in fear as my body hits Kotori's and sends her flying out of the trucks range. I turned and look at the approaching truck, now I could have had time to reflect on what I could of done differently in my life, or the flash back to the past or perhaps even wonder who the Meli was, but only one sentient thought went through my mind before a white flash enveloped the world and everything went black.

"That truck is really dirty"

-Zexal-

Fan made Cards:

Aromassence, Trap card: If this card is sent to the graveyard by your opponent's card effect: Gain 1000 Life Points.

Rose Rook, Monster Card, Level 3, Earth, Plant Type Monster. 1000 Atk, 0 Def: If you control Just 1 face up Plant type Monster you can Special Summon this Card from your hand. This Card cannot be used as a Synchro Material or a Tribute for a Tribute Summon or an effect..


	13. Chapter 13: Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!

**AN: Sorry for the slightly delayed update, stuff just happened. on a side note before we begin I'm still looking for a Beta to help me tweak and fix the little mistakes in my story, if you are interested just shoot me a PM. without further ado enjoy the next chapter of the Emperor's Regnant.**

**Chapter 13: Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon Descends!**

I was standing in the middle of a white abyss, I couldn't see very far as everything was very foggy

"Where am I?" I question aloud my voice echoing around me. I take a few moments to study my surroundings wondering how I got there, "Let's see that truck was about to hit Kotori and then…" I gasped "Kotori, Where are you?!" I yell out into the void my voice echoing once more but getting no response.

After a few moments I hear footsteps coming closer and see a shadow of what looks like a little girl.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh." An innocent childish laughter rings through the air that sounded familiar to me.

"Who's there?!" I yell out.

"O_" The voice says but I can't understand it because the words sound like a very bad static filled Radio.

"I'm sorry I can't understand you." I tell the figure

"_H_" The figure says again before running off giggling.

"Wait!" I yell out running after the figure as the fog rolls in making it harder and hard for me to see them. "Wait!" I yell out once more as they get more and more distant and running to catch up to them in an arduous task as the fog blankets my world.

-Zexal—

"WAIT!" I yell out as my eyes snap open and I sit up gasping for breath.

"Wh-what happened?" I mutter softly as the haze in my head slowly lifts up, "Kotori!" I yell out in worry as the memory of the truck coming at her comes back in full force. I look around I see her floating frozen in midair. "What?!" I mentally question before quickly looking around. I notice that the rain is also frozen in midair.

"So you must have a Number as well! A voice states.

I turn and see Yuma with his duel disk activated facing a teen with blond hair in a white outfit.

I shrug. "Maybe." I say to the person I assume to be the Number Hunter.

"Of course you have a Number, in this field only those who hold a number may move!" the robot next to the hunter snaps.

"SHUT UP YOU TIN CAN!" I snap at the robots annoying voice.

I see a very faint hint of amusement on the hunter's eyes before it blinks out.

"Once I finish my hunt here, I will be going after your Numbers!" The Hunter says.

"Yeah, yeah." I say in a distracting tone before going over to Kotori and checking her over, making sure she's okay.

"That's a relief" I say as I notice she's unharmed.

I turn back to Yuma and the Hunter and put on my D-Gazer so I can see the duel, On the Hunter's side is a Dragon made of stars and on Yuma's side is Number 39 Aspiring Emperor Hope.

"Ven! This duel is dangerous you must take over for Yuma!" Astral pleads.

I ignore him, casting my eyes at the Hunter silently telling Astral, "I can't answer with him there."

I push Kotori through the air a bit closer to the side walk and take a seat on the railing next to her, to watch the duel.

"You can do this Yuma!" I tell him before examining my nails a bit. "I can't always protect you, you have to fight battles like this yourself to grow stronger." I say in an offhand tone.

"Yeah!" Yuma says with a nod, "I'll bring it to 'em!"

The shock I felt yesterday goes through my body again I wince and bite my lip to stop screaming out in pain my hands gripping the railing as my body begins to sweat lightly, It takes a bit but I manage to push past the pain, and make it a bearable level.

I toggled with the display of the D-Gazer to see the current status of the duel, it showed that the Hunter was called Kaito Tenjo and the dragon was Called Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon. (**Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon, Level 8, 3000 ATK**) and on Yuma's side was Number 33. (**Number 39: Aspiring Emperor Hope, Rank 4, 2500 ATK**) Both their life points were untouched. (**Yuma: 4000**) (**Kaito: 4000**)

"Galaxy-Eyes' attack power is 3000, Hope's attack power is 2500!" Yuma states to himself looking at the field. "But I'll keep on attacking!"

"Yuma!" Astral gasps in surprise as his thinking.

"In my battle with Shark, I learned that Hope isn't invincible, and that offense is my greatest defense!" Yuma tells Astral.

"I get it, those tactics aren't bad, and you've found your own way of fighting!" Astral comments about Yuma.

I smile, "You've grown since the two of you Met Yuma." I mentally comment about Yuma and Astral.

"And a drawn-out battle with this guy will be foolish!" Astral says referring to Kaito.

"Right, now here I go!" Yuma tells Astral. "I activate the Magic Card, Blustering Winds!" he announces to Kaito placing the spell card into his Duel Disk. "This card, allows me to increase the attack and defense power of one monster on the field by 1000 points!" he says explaining his card's effect as a gust of wind surrounds Number 39 and it's attack power goes up to 3500. (**2500 ATK – 3500 ATK**)

"Now it has higher attack power then his monster!" Yuma states.

"Be careful Yuma!" I mentally comment while watching Kaito very closely to see how he plays in case I ever had to fight him myself.

Oh, you're willing to battle Galaxy-Eyes?" Kaito questions in an amused tone.

"Go, Aspiring Emperor Hope, Show him your strength!" Yuma orders his faithful monster pointing at the Dragon as the Number charges forth. "Hope Sword Slash!"

"Too bad, after successfully summoning it." Kaito comments in a tone I can identify as a bit bored.

"Sorry, it will be sent to the cemetery soon!" Yuma comments about Galaxy-Eyes.

My eyebrows came together in a frown, I had a feeling Kaito was talking about Yuma's monster not his when he had said that.

"Your monster will." Kaito says giving Yuma a look.

"What?!" Yuma gasps out.

"I was right." I whisper under my breath.

"Don't underestimate Galaxy-Eye's strength!" Kaito yells at Yuma, his eyes widening a bit. "Galaxy-Eyes' effect activates!" he declares with a sweep of his Hand as the Dragon lets out a roar. "When Galaxy-Eye's battles, it can banish itself and the monster it is battling" he explains to Yuma as the Number and Dragon dematerialize.

"That's a dangerous effect." I murmur.

"Hope!" Yuma yells out as his monster vanishes.

"Now your battle won't continue!" Kaito tells Yuma. "So, what will you do now?"

"Tchh, I now end the battle!" Yuma hisses out.

"At this moment Galaxy-Eyes' effect activates!" Kaito says as he holds up the monster's card. "This turn, Galaxy-Eyes' effect will bring back the monsters banished after the battle ends of the field!"

"Hope, so it wasn't defeated" Yuma sighs out in relief as the Dragon and the Number reappear on the field.

"That can't be it," I comment softly about the Banishing effect.

"Since Hope is back, his attack will be canceled!" Yuma states with confidence.

"This is Galaxy-Eyes' true strength!" Kaito tells Yuma.

"True strength?" I mentally question with a raised eyebrow.

"Galaxy-Eyes', if the banished monster was an Xyz Monster, it absorbs its overlay units, and for each unit its attack power goes up by 500 points!" Kaito explains as the Overlay Units from Hope fly into Galaxy-Eyes' chest

"What?!" Astral gasps out in surprise.

"Hope's overlay units!" Yuma yells out in shock

"The units absorbed from your Number are two." Kaito states to Yuma, "So Galaxy-Eyes' attack power goes up by 1000 points!" he explains as the dragon's power raises. (**3000 Atk – 4000 Atk**)

"An attack power of 4000!?" Astral mutters in shock.

"4000 is exactly the same as my life!" Yuma stammers out.

"Kaito-sama, extract every drop of his soul!" the robot states to Kaito.

I raised an eyebrow wondering what that bolt bucket meant.

"Soul?" Yuma questions. "If that's it, the criminal back then."

I frowned wondering what Yuma was talking about before flashing back to the Mall. "Oh." I mouth silently. So my theory was right, he did lose his soul, it had just been a wild guess before with no real confirmation.

"He indeed looked like he just had his soul taken." Yuma comments about the thug from earlier.

"How dare you!?" Kaito growls at the Robot. "It's absolutely despicable to impose the opponent with such fear!"

"I apologize, I apologize!" the robot stammers out backing up a bit.

"W-what does he mean?" Yuma stammers out, "Answer me!"

"Half-hearted fear will only make you feel worse, so I'll explain," Kaito tells Yuma. "The way I get the Numbers is a little overbearing, when I take the Numbers, your soul will also be taken!" he tells Yuma.

I scoff silently, "A Little Overbearing?" I mutter with a soft eye roll, my hand unconsciously goes for my duel disk. "No, Yuma has to fight this battle himself!" I mentally say having an internal argument on wither to help him or not.

"And where does that soul go?" Yuma stammers in shock

"Don't know, and I don't want to influence that!" Kaito tells Yuma.

I looked discreetly at Kaito with interest, it seemed he didn't like taking the souls, so what was his reason for hunting.

"No way." Yuma mutters sweat pouring down his face in fear.

"Yuma's soul is at stake in this duel!" Astral comments before looking at me with pleading eyes.

I softly shake my head, "Sorry, but he needs to overcome this trial himself" I tell Astral with my eyes.

"I set 1 card face-down and end my turn!" Yuma says as the card materializes face down.

"My turn, Draw!" Kaito yells out as he draws his card. "Galaxy-Eyes attack him!" he orders his dragon. "Photon Stream of Destruction!" Hope yells out in pain as it's attacked.

"Only Numbers can be defeated by Numbers." Kaito states to Yuma, "But you'll still take the damage!"

Yuma groans out as his life drops by 1500 (**Yuma: 4000 – 2500**)

"Then I activate the Quick-Play Magic, Photon Wind!" Kaito declares holding up the Card. "This card, during my battle phase, if the opponent's monster couldn't be destroyed and took battle damage, I inflict 1000 points of damage!" he explains to Yuma.

"This is defiantly an Anti-Number deck!" I comment to myself feeling excitement boiling up inside my blood at the prospect of maybe one day facing such a strong duelist.

"What, he knew that the Numbers couldn't be destroyed!" Astral questions in shock as Yuma yells out from the attack hitting him, Yuma and Astral are thrown back as Yuma's life drops again. (**Yuma: 2500-1500**)

"Then with Photon Wind's effect I draw 1 card!" Kaito tells Yuma as he draws, he looks at it for a split second, "I set a card face-down and end my turn!" he says placing the card he just drew face down.

Yuma weakly stands up, I look over and notice Astral start to flash in an out of existence.

"Astral!" Yuma mutters in worry for our other worldly friend.

"My own life, seems to be depleting" Astral comments

"Damn it!" Yuma curses out.

"Don't stand up!" Kaito tells Yuma.

Yuma looks at Kaito in shock.

"Just surrender this way" Kaito tells Yuma. "If you don't you'll just feel more unnecessary pain"

"Stay sharp Yuma!" I yell out in a cheer. "Besides if you give up, I will find your soul and punish it severely for being so weak" I tell him giving him a glare.

"Y-Yeah." Yuma stammers out weakly before fully standing up "Stop kidding me!" he tells Kaito

"I praise you for your fighting spirit, but you will regret it!" Kaito responds to Yuma.

"I won't give up at this rate!" Yuma says in retort.

"Then as you wish, I'll take away your soul!" Kaito tells Yuma with a clenched fist.

"My Turn!" Yuma yells out going to draw his card, I notice his hand is shaking too much in fear.

"Yuma." Astral mutters in worry!

I grind my teeth a little in worry before deciding to help out my brother. "YUMA!" I yell out at him.

"Ehh?" Yuma mutters looking over at me, Kaito and Astral do as well.

"If you can't defeat someone as trivial as him." I say pointing to Kaito, "You'll never become the duel champion, there are way stronger duelists in the world.

Yuma's hand becomes stiff and calm. "Your right Ven, thanks!" Yuma says with a soft smile.

"Oh?" Kaito questions with interest.

"My Turn, Draw! Yuma yells out drawing his card. I notice Yuma is breathing heavily from the fear he was still feeling even though he had calmed down a bit.

"Yuma." I mutter softly.

"Is that so?" Astral questions Yuma, making me wonder what Yuma had been thinking.

"Huh?" Yuma says looking at Astral.

"That boy used Numbers to summon Galaxy-Eyes, Don't you think he already read your mind of switching Numbers to defense mode?" Astral questions Yuma.

"So that's what Yuma was thinking." I mentally comment to myself.

"But, what should I do?" Yuma questions Astral.

"You said that "Offense is the best defense"." Astral tells Yuma. "Stick to that,"

"Well that's right!" Yuma tells Astral, "But, if I lose this duel you'll disappear!"

"Correct, this time we're in the same situation." Astral tells Yuma, "and as much as I despise it, Ventus is right, we can't constantly rely on him to bail us out when situations get tough."

"Aren't you scared?" Yuma questions Astral.

"I don't know." Astral tells Yuma. "However, there's nothing else left, this is my destiny."

"He certainly can be calm in intense situations." I mentally comment about Astral.

"Do you always have your life at risk while dueling?" Yuma questions Astral.

"Yuma, get over your fear!" Astral snaps at Yuma. "You can't win against this opponent if you show your back!"

Yuma grips the Emperor's key in determination. "Let's Go, Astral!" Yuma says in a much calmer tone. "In this duel, let's unite our strength!"

Astral Nods in response to Yuma.

"Here I go, I'll bring it to 'em!" Yuma yells out, "I summon Zubaba Knight!" he declares placing the card on the duel disk and the knight emerges. (**Zubaba Knight, Level 3, 1600 Atk**) "I activate the Trap, Copy Knight!" he further announces as the Set card on his field flips open. "Copy Knight, when a Level 4 or lower Warrior Type monster is summoned on the field, this card is Special Summoned with the same level as that monster!" Yuma explains as the suit of armor from the trap card turns into another Zubaba Knight.

"Is he calling out another Number?" I question.

"I overlay the Level 3 Zubaba Knight and Copy Knight!" Yuma declares as the two monsters turn into lights and fly up into the sky. "With these two monsters I build the overlay network." Yuma chants out, "Xyz Summon, Appear Numbers 17, Leviath Dragon!" (**Number 17: Leviath Dragon, Rank 3, 2000 ATK**)

"Oh my!" The robot stammers out in shock, "A Numbers!" "A Numbers!" "A Numbers!" it yells out repeatedly, "A second Numbers, confirmed!" it tells Kaito.

"His second Numbers?" Kaito questions in interest, "I see, you're a Numbers hunter too" he says about Yuma as well before looking at me. "And I'm guessing you as well." He says addressing me.

"Guilty" I say with a nonchalant shrug.

"It's fine to underestimate unnecessary things!" Kaito comments about Yuma, "I'll take all of your Numbers!"

"I activate Leviath Dragon's monster effect!" Yuma declares out. "Leviath Dragon, Once per turn by detaching an Overlay Unit, its attack power goes up by 500 points!" he explains as the Dragon Number eats one of its overlay Units as its power goes up. (**2000 ATk – 2500 Atk**)

"But that's far away from my Galaxy-Eyes' attack power!" Kaito reminds Yuma.

"That's now what I'm aiming for!" Yuma tells Kaito. "I activate the Magic Card, Cross Attack!" he says holding up the card. "If I have 2 monsters with the same attack power on my field, one of the monsters can attack directly and the other one can't declare an attack" Yuma explains.

"Good choice, but will it work." I comment softly.

"On my field there are Hope and Leviath Dragon with the same attack power of 2500!" Yuma tells Kaito.

"Even if you decrease that boy's life, we don't know how the duel will end!" Astral tells Yuma.

"Go, Aspiring Emperor Hope, Attack Directly!" Yuma says ordering his monster to attack.

"An unexpected strategist?" Kaito questions in a completely bored tone.

"Hope Sword Slash!" Yuma says stating the Numbers attack name.

"Trying to evade defeat by attacking!?" Kaito asks Yuma in a mock tone, "But..." he says holding up his duel disk. "Trap activate, Photonize!" he announces as the set card flips over. "This card, if there's a Light monster on the field, if the opponent battled, it negated the attack of that monster!" Kaito explains as Hope's sword disappears. "And then one of my own Light monster's attack power goes up by the attack power of that monster!" he finishes explaining at Galaxy eyes attack power goes up to 6500. (**4000 Atk – 6500 Atk**)

"A-An attack power of 6500!?" Yuma stammers out in shock.

I let out an impressed whistle.

"If I take his attack, there is no way I can win." Yuma stammers out in a whisper.

"Yuma." Astral says in concern looking at his Partner.

"Damn!" Yuma growls out.

"It's an assumption!" Astral tells Yuma.

"An assumption?" Yuma questions looking at Astral.

"Listen carefully, Yuma." Astral tells Yuma, "You have one chance of a counter-attack"

"A counter attack!?" Yuma questions Astral, "But such a thing…" he says trailing off.

"Set the trap card in your hand." Astral orders Yuma.

"My Trap?" Yuma questions looking at his hand. "The one I have is Holy Armor – Mirror Mail."

"That's right, Mirror Mail, if the opponent's monster battles, it will change the attack power of the targeted monster to the attack power of his attacking monster." Astral explains to Yuma.

"That's right." Yuma comments in realization. "Even if their attack power is the same, only Numbers can defeat Numbers, in summary, if his Galaxy-Eyes is destroyed, my Hope will remain"

I snickered silently as Yuma's unintentional copying of Takashi with his to Summarize.

"So this is the counterattack you were talking about?" Yuma questions Astral.

"That's right." Astral tells Yuma with a nod.

"Alright, I set a card face-down and end my turn!" Yuma says placing his card.

I sighed, that trap was way too telegraphed and it would be easy to get over for someone like Kaito. The headache flares up a bit but I don't let it bother me keeping my focus on the duel.

"My turn Draw!" Kaito yells out drawing his card.

"Bring it!" Yuma hisses out.

Everyone give each other a stare down. "It's coming!" Yuma mutters.

Kaito smirks, "I summon Photon Cerberus!" he says summoning his light three headed dog, In the turn this card is summoned, Trap Cards can't be activated!" he explains as chains fly out of the dog and wrap around Yuma's trap card. (**Photon Cerberus, Level 3, 1300 Atk**)

"What!?" Astral gasps out in shock.

"I knew it!" I mutter before looking at my persuade Brother. "Yuma." I mutter in worry hoping something will save him.

"Now, Mirror Mail can't be activated!" Yuma yells out in shock.

"What's the matter!?" Kaito mock questions Yuma, "Do you think I'd be reckless to attack with you holding a face-down card?" he questions rhetorically.

"Impossible, this boy's duel…is further above me!?" Astral stammers out in pure shock.

"I'll take away your soul!" Kaito states with a feral look. "Go, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" he orders his monster pointing at Hope.

"Astral!" Yuma yells out in worry.

"YUMA!" I yell out feeling pure worry and fear.

"It's over now." Astral states in defeat.

"Please!" I mentally pray my fists clenched tightly onto the railing I was sitting on my hands turning a pale white from the fear my entire body was shaking, I paused was I afraid of Kaito... no it wasn't a fear of Kaito it was a fear of losing a family member, it felt familiar almost nostalgic.

"Photon Stream of..." Kaito yells out before gasping in shock as the robot give off an alarm.

"Kaito-sama!" the robot tells Kaito showing an image of a collapsed kid.

"Haruto!" Kaito mutters in shock, I see pure horror on his face, before he composes himself and turns back to Yuma. "This duel is canceled!" he tells Yuma detaching some sort of binding from Yuma. "My name is Kaito, remember it well!" he tells Yuma. "Let's go, Orbital 7!" he orders the Robot.

"Understood!" Orbital 7 responds before transforming into a motorcycle and the two speed off before a flash of light happens and the world begins moving again, unfortunately I forgot to account for the movement Kotori would go through when time started up again and got knocked down by her.

"Are you okay?" I ask Kotori

"Y-Yeah" she stammers out looking around not realizing she was straddling me "What happened?"

"I-I'll explain later, I say with a tomato red blush before remembering. "Yuma!" I yell out

Kotori gets up and I stand up after her and we go over to Yuma.

"My arms and legs didn't act like I wanted them to." Yuma mutters in a broken tone.

"Huh?" Kotori questions as Yuma falls to his knees.

"Bringing it to 'em, my foot." Yuma mutters out in further despair, "Duel Champion my foot, How can I become a Duel Champion in this way!?" Yuma questions to himself before letting out a heart wrenching scream of agony."

"Yuma." I whisper under my breath looking at my brother in worry.

-Zexal-

Later that night I was sitting on a bench next to the pier looking out at the water while the gently wind splashed some water onto my face, Yuma had gone home and I came out here to gather my thoughts together, I felt someone sit down next to me, I looked over to see it was Kotori.

"Hey." I say in greeting.

"Hey Ven." She greets in return with a smile before the two of us turn to look at the water.

"I just wanted to say thanks." Kotori says looking over at me.

I look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"For saving my life." Kotori says in explanation.

I smile at her and grasp her shoulder. "I would do it again in a heartbeat" I tell her without hesitation.

"Ven." Kotori states with shimmering eyes and a hint of a smile of her face.

I look over at the water letting a long silence overcome us before speaking up, "I remembered a piece of my past." I tell her.

"That's Great!" Kotori says in excitement, "This is the first thing that's come back to you since we first met two years ago."

I give a silent nod in response.

"Was is about this Meli person, you yelled out to when you tackled me out of the way?" Kotori questions.

"You remembered that in all that chaos?" I question her.

"Of course, it's hard to forget when you see the person you Lo, I mean really like is in peril" Kotori says stammering at one point.

I chuckle at her action, before turning serious. "Yeah it's about Meli, I remembered an important promise to protect her always." I clench my hand as they begin to shake. "How?' I turn to look at Kotori tears streaming down my eyes. "How could I forget something so important!?"

"Ven." Kotori mutters in worry before hugging me.

I stiffen in shock before returning the hug.

"I'm sure, she will forgive you" Kotori says to me.

I smile and wipe off the tears, "Y-Yeah" I say with a weak smile.

"Do you know where she is?" Kotori questions.

I shake my head, "No, the memory is still broken, all I remember is a vehicle streaming to her and my own voice yelling out her name." I say rubbing my forehead as if trying to call forth the memory. "I don't even remember what she looks like or wither she is still alive.

"That's why..." I state with a lingering tone.

"Huh?" Kotori questions looking at me with curiosity.

"I'm going to be leaving soon to go search for her and fulfil my promise to protect her." I tell Kotori before looking at her. "If I'm gone for a long time, I-If I ever return is it okay if I come and visit?" I question.

"Of course you idiot!" Kotori says punching my shoulder.

I smile, "Thanks Koto that means a lot.

"No problem Ven." She says returning the smile, "But who are you looking for."

I look up at the sky to the shining full moon as the memory of the white abyss comes back as the child's laughter becomes clearer and the image of the young girl becomes clearer showing a young girl of about 8 years old. "Onii-san, when are you coming home?" the girl questions.

"My Imouto!" I tell Kotori.

-Zexal-

**Next Time: Trembling Nerves, Ventus and Kotori's first date!**

Here it is next time is the Date/Carnival arc where Kotori will get her own deck finally, the winner was the Fairy deck so Kotori will get that one, hope you all enjoy it.


	14. Chapter 14: Ven and Kotori's First Date

AN: Thanks to everyone who voted on the poll for my story ideas, I'm really glad you all liked my ideas. If your worried that the story you picked might not win don't worry, I do eventually plan on doing all of them, this is just my way of asking you guys which story you want to see the most. oh and just a heads up, If you want to vote for a choice make sure to vote on the poll through my profile, I'm not counting Review votes to avoid potential Guest spam votes. without further ado, enjoy the first chapter of what I call the Date Arc.

**Chapter 14: Trembling Nerves, Ventus and Kotori's First Date!**

"I'm home!" I call out as I enter the house.

"Hey Ven, welcome home." Akari greets me in return.

"How's Yuma doing?" I ask Akari as I take off my shoes.

"He's still in that depressed state." Akari tells me before giving me a look, "You don't know why he's like that do you?"

I give a shrug, "Maybe, Maybe not, it's not my place to tell"

Akari gives me a look before sighing, "Fine"

"I'm gonna go check up on him" I tell Akari as I head up to Yuma and I's room.

\- Zexal-

I opened the door and walked in to see Yuma and Astral sitting on the bed.

"Hey guys" I greet to them walking up to them.

Both of them just ignore me too deep in their depression.

"You guys, don't let it get you down" I tell them putting a hand on their shoulders."

Yuma looks at me with a blank expression as I feel a shiver of fear go through him and Astral as well.

"Tch" I growl out standing up and clenching my hands into a fist, "STOP SCREWING AROUND!" I yell out before punching Astral and Yuma in the face causing them to fly into the wall.

"Ow-Ow-Ow" Yuma groans out before standing up and yelling at me with an angry face, "Oi Ven, what was that for?!"

"To snap you out of it." I tell him as I pull Yuma and Astral on to their feet, well Yuma at least Astral just hovered there. "So what if you almost lost one duel, it's not the end of the world"

"But Ven, This Kaito is stronger than anyone I have ever faced." Astral states with a tint of fear in his voice.

I felt annoyance flash through my body at Astral's weakness, I held out my hand to him. "Give me the Numbers!" I order him.

"What?" Astral gasps in shock.

"You heard me." I tell him my hand still extended. "Give me the Numbers"

Astral looks at me for a moment, "Why?" he finally asks

"It's simple" I say sitting down on the bed beside Yuma who had fallen asleep, "If you let something like Kaito lock your heart up in fear you will never be able to collect all the Numbers from the duelists stronger than Kaito out there." I tell Astral bluntly.

"Someone stronger than Kaito." Astral says in a distant tone, "But there's not way we can beat that Hunter"

I shrug at that, "Maybe in your current state, but what you need to do is shatter the chains you have put on yourself called Limitations and go beyond them." I tell Astral while making a grasping motion with my hand.

"Go beyond my limits?" Astral states even though it comes out as a question

"Yeah." I say with a nod

Astral just gives a dismissive nod.

I turn as Yuma suddenly yells out having fallen to the floor due to his awkward sleeping position.

"Baka." I say with a soft chuckle.

"Ouch" Yuma groans out before sitting up and looking at Astral and I and chuckling awkwardly.

I see Yuma stand up with a concerned look on his face I follow his sight to see him looking at Astral, I knew I had lifted Astral out of his depression a little bit, but only Yuma could truly pull him out.

"It's because you're always around me that my soul was targeted." Yuma tells Astral.

I was going to hit Yuma for being so blunt to Astral, but I wanted to see how Astral reacted to it.

"I'm sorry." Astral apologizes to Yuma.

"Astral." I mutter under my breath in worry, realizing now how deep Astral's depression ran.

"Geex, what are you whining about!?" Yuma yells at Astral. "The only way to survive is to defeat Kaito, isn't that right?" he asks Astral.

"Right!" I yell them as I walk up and stand beside Yuma, "you just need to get stronger"

"Can we win?" Astral questions.

"That's why it's not "can we win", it's "we will win"!" Yuma tells Astral.

"Tuna's right!" I tell Astral, "if you believe you can't defeat Kaito then you will never defeat Kaito, but if you believe there's a way a miracle will be drawn forth."

"Oi, its YUMA!" Yuma snaps at me realizing what I had called him.

I see Astral's lips twitch in a smirk at the new nickname for Yuma. "Your right Ven" Astral says in a much more chipper tone.

"Remember, this isn't only your problem anymore" Yuma begins to state before the door to our room opens up.

"Yuma, Ven!" I hear Kotori call out to us.

"Kotori!" I call out in return feeling a wide smile on my face.

"Tetsuo." I hear Yuma say, I look again and realize I had totally missed Tetsuo standing there.

"Hey, Tetsuo" I say giving a small wave, Tetsuo just nods.

-Zexal-

Tetsuo was showing us an ad on his D-Pad.

"The World Duel Carnival?" Yuma questions as the as plays.

"Yup, W.D.C. for short." Tetsuo tells us. "And it will be held in our Heartland city."

"Sounds interesting" I say looking over Yuma's shoulder. "Looks like it starts in six months" I mentally comment

"Unbelievably strong Duelists from all over the world are gathered for this carnival!" Tetsuo explains to us.

I notice Yuma slightly gasp in shock as his hands shake and realize he's probably thinking about Kaito.

I put a comforting Hand on his shoulder and squeeze gently.

"Thanks Ven" Yuma says after taking a calming breath.

"Hey Yuma, what's the matter?" Tetsuo questions.

I give Tetsuo a "Drop it" Look.

"Yuma!" Haru says to us seemingly having appeared out of nowhere.

Yuma yells out in shock at her sudden appearance, "Grandma!"

I was surprised to but kept my scream of surprise on the inside.

"The truth is, I have to send you on a small errand!" Haru tells Yuma placing a HUGE bag down in front of him.

"Biiiiiiiiig" I comment as I notice it's full of food.

"T-These are…" Yuma stammers out. "I-I'm not free right now, ask Ven." He says trying to decline and giving me a silent "Help me" look.

I just raise my eyebrow and give him a look.

"I wonder where my adorable, obedient Grandson Yuma went to?" Haru asks with an evil look on her face.

Yuma stammers a bit in fear before yelling out in a panic, "Right here, you're obedient grandson is right here!"

"That's my Yuma." Haru says pushing the bag toward Yuma her mood going back to the sweet and innocent old lady

"You coming Ven?" Yuma asks as he grabs the bag.

"Sorry" I say with a shake of my head, but this is a journey you need make on your own, plus I have plans for tomorrow.

"Plans?" Yuma questions.

"Yeah." I say before turning to Kotori, "Hey Koto wanna go to that new amusement park tomarrow just you and me?" I ask her.

Kotori blinks for a second as my words take a moment to process, "EHHH?" She yells out in shock, her face turning a tomato red "A-A-A-Are you asking me on a d-d-d-d-d-date." She stammers out.

I smile at her, "Yup" I tell her, "but if you want to go as just friends I'll be fine with that.

I see Astral looking at us with interest at this new development he had never seen before.

Kotori takes a breath and lets it out, "I'd like to Ven, but we should help Yuma." Kotori tells me.

"Oh go dearie, plus this is something Yuma needs to do on his own." Haru tells Kotori.

"Well…" Kotori says before trailing off and smiling, "Why not I'll go with you to the amusement park." She says with a smile.

"Yes!" I say with a fist pump before realizing what I did and blushing in embarrassment.

Haru chuckles at my antics before looking at me, "I'll lend you some money for your date." She tells me.

I politely shake my head, "Thanks Haru, but I have enough." I tell her.

Haru smiles "Nonsense, I want to." She says

I just nod not wanting to deal with evil Haru.

I turn back to Yuma with a cheeky grin, "See plans" I tell him.

Yuma just sticks his tongue out at me.

-Zexal-

"I'll see you tomorrow!" Yuma says as he heads out.

"Yeah see you tomorrow." I tell him with a wave, "I called a friend who will go with you"

"Who?" Yuma questions

"You'll see, they will meet you on the way" I tell him

Yuma looks at me for a bit, "Alright" he says before turning to Haru, Kotori and Tetsuo behind me, "I'm off" he tells them before walking off with Astral sitting on the bag.

I turn to Kotori, "I'll meet you at 11 at the entrance to the park, okay?" I ask her.

Kotori blushes a bit at the thought of a date, "Y-Yeah" she says with a slight stammer.

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow then!" I tell her with a smile.

Kotori just Nods.

"See you later Tetsuo" I say giving a wave goodbye.

"Later Ven." Tetsuo says back as he and Kotori leave for the night.

"I'll be in my room" I tell Haru as I head up to my room. I go up to my desk and pull out Number 26 I had placed in there and placed it beside Number 49 on my bed and pulled out my deck and the new cards I had bought and completely remade my deck. I had realized that if I wanted to defeat someone like Kaito I needed a "New me." I put the new deck back into the duel disk and slid the Numbers into my deck case, if someone like Kaito was out there, I couldn't afford to leave the Numbers lying around.

I turn and realize the sun had gone completely down and the moon was high in the sky, I had been working on my deck for hours. I set my duel disk down on my bedside table and changed into my night cloths and climbed into bed, I took a look up at the attic, "I hope you find what you lost, Yuma" I mutter silently before succumbing to sleep.

-Zexal—

I was standing in front of the entrance to the theme park, pacing back and forth my nerves completely shot.

"Relax Ven," I tell myself tugging on my vest. I was wearing a different outfit then normal it consisted of a purple T-shirt with a red outline of a dragon's face with a black vest over top that was zipped up half way with the bottom zipper split open. I had on a pair of gray shorts the left leg was slightly longer then the right with a chain attached to the right side on the belt loops. The Regnant's Symbol dangling lazily around my neck.

"Ven!" I hear Kotori call out.

"Ko…" I start to say in greeting to Kotori but stop short, she was breath taking. Kotori was wearing a pink dress with a white trim on the shoulders and the bottom with a black ribbon around her waist with a bow on the center of her stomach. Around her neck was a red choker. She had a purse slung over her shoulder with black shorts barely showing under her dress and a pair of white converse shoes. Her hair was down and out of a ribbon.

"Goddess." I reply robotically.

Kotori chuckles at my response.

"You look beautiful Kotori!" I tell her unable to meet her eyes in embarrassment.

"T-Thanks Ven" Kotori replies averting her gaze as well.

I give an awkward cough to defuse the tension "Come on let's get tickets and go in"

"Alright" Kotori says as we go up to the front gate.

-Zexal-

"Beautiful isn't it Ven" Kotori says as the Ferris wheel reaches its peak.

I took in the view the city seemed to be singing in lights. "Yeah" I say with a smile.

I feel Kotori slightly lean into my shoulder, I look at my arm before hesitantly reaching around Kotori and wrapping my arm around her.

Kotori just snuggled deeper into my shoulder as the Ferris wheel began to go around fully.

This was nice, being able to relax without having to worry about the Numbers or Astral.

"Do you think Yuma's gonna be okay?" Kotori asks me.

I give a nod. "Yeah, I called Cathy and told her to go with him as an emotional support."

"You're a good brother Ven" Kotori says with a smile looking up at me.

"I take care of my family" I tell her.

Kotori glances over at me. "Do you know what happened with Yuma?"

I nod, "I saw the whole thing and I'll fill you in after our date but for now let's just enjoy the time." I tell her.

Kotori blushes a bit at the date description but nods, "I understand."

"Thanks Kotori." I tell her as the Ferris wheel ride comes to a stop and we get off.

-Zexal-

Kotori and I were walking along the various vendors I saw a knock the bottle down game and decided to give it a shot.

"Three tries for $5" The Vendor told me.

"Thanks" I say putting down the money and taking the balls. I run my tongue over my teeth and grip the ball in concentration before throwing it knocking down the tower in one shot.

"I-Impressing" the vendor stammers out in shock before composing himself, "take whatever prize you want" he tells me gesturing to the prize dolls.

"That one" I say pointing to a small doll of a fairy cheer girl.

"Here you go" he says handing the doll to me.

"Thanks" I tell him politely before turning to Kotori, "Here you go Kotori" I say handing her the doll.

"Thank's Ven I like it." Kotori says with a smile placing the doll in her purse.

"Your welcome." I say with a smile before looking at my watch, "Come on its almost 1 lets go get some lunch."

Kotori nods in agreement as we head on over to the food area.

-Zexal—

After a small lunch Kotori and I were wondering around the Vendor's booths just to let our food settle before going back on the rides.

"Step right up, Step right up." A Vendor calls out.

I turn to look in interest.

The Vendor hits his stick on the table. "Step right up and win big, that's right if you can beat five challenging duel puzzles you'll win this one of a kind deck" he says holding up a deck case, "No one knows what's in this deck, you'll have to win to find out, only $5 a try." He says, "Step right up" he calls out again.

"You should give it a try Ven" Kotori says noticing my gaze.

"You think so?" I ask her with a raised eyebrow.

Kotori smiles at me and nods. "Yeah I know you can win." She tells me with a cheer.

"Alright." I say cracking my knuckles. "I'll go win that deck for you" I tell Kotori.

"You don't have to win anything for me." Kotori stammers out.

I smile at her, "I want to" I tell her kindly, "Plus it would be fun to share more things"

Kotori nods, "Good luck Ven" she cheers as I walk up to the Vendor.

"Hello good sir, care to try you luck at the gauntlet of puzzles, defeat 10 progressively harder puzzles to win this mystery deck." The Vendor tells me, "Just $5 for one shot."

"Alright" I tell him handing over the money.

"Thank you kind sir." The Vendor says taking the money as I walk up to the duel platform.

"DUEL!" The Computer and I yell out.

-Zexal—

I felt a bead of sweat roll down my face as I faced the final puzzle, they truly were challenging, even I was struggling with it but I eventually managed to figure it out as the final puzzle's life went down to zero.

"A-Amazing" the Vendor stammers out in shock, I thought I had created the perfect impossible challenge, you deserve this." He tells me handing the deck.

"Thanks" I say taking the deck and pulling it out of the case. I noticed a special card design, one that went out of style long ago. "Synchro Monsters?" I question to myself before smiling, "Kotori will really like this" I say putting the deck back in the case and walking over to her.

"Congrats Ven" Kotori says with a smile.

"Sorry it took so long." I apologize to her.

Kotori gives me a smile, "Don't worry about it," she tells me as I hand her the deck case.

"Thanks Ven" Kotori says with a smile as she takes the deck case and slides it into her purse. "Do you think I'll be able to match you and Yuma one day?" She questions me.

"I have no doubt." I tell her with a smile, "Plus I'll train you" I say with a grin.

"Thanks Ventus." Kotori says giving me a hug.

I return the hug, "Come on, I saw a ride called Captain Corn's Nature Crooz earlier it sounds like fun lets go try it out I tell her.

Kotori nods as we head back over to the rides our hands linked together.

-Zexal-

Captain Corn's Nature Crooz was a pirate themed roller coaster attraction.

"Cool" I comment as Kotori and I get in line.

"You always did like pirate stuff didn't you Ven." Kotori says with a smile.

"Yeah." I say with a nod as the line slowly moves forward.

"Friends! Welcome to Captain Corn's Nature Crooz!" An animatronic of a pirate captain begins to play around us "I'm about to give you a corn-tastic mission, me hearties!"

"Well that was corny" I state before realizing what I said and face palming

Kotori just chuckles.

We eventually made our way up to the coaster and began to get in, but the Crew Member stops me and direct me to the very rear cart. I raised my eyebrow but didn't think much of it. "Come on Kotori." I tell her leading her toward to final cart.

The Crew Member puts his hand out in front of Kotori in a stop motion.

I give the Crew Member a look, "Either she goes with me or I don't ride in this cart." I tell the small bean looking aid.

The Crew Member gives a contemplative look before relenting and letting Kotori in.

"What was that about?" Kotori questions.

I shrug, "Who knows." I say as the ride starts up and the roller coaster takes off.

The coaster picks up speed as my hair flails wildly due to the wind.

"Whoo Hooo!" I yell out throwing my arms into the air.

Kotori giggles and mimics my pose.

The cart suddenly jolts as it disconnects from the others and goes down a different path.

"What's going on?" Kotori asks grasps my arm.

"I dunno, but I have a feeling we're about to find out." I tell her as we enter a separate tunnel my eyes showing complete seriousness.

The coaster eventually stopped in front of an entrance to what I saw to be a big room. "Shall we?" I say to Kotori standing up and offering her my hand.

Kotori nods and takes my hand we exit to coaster and enter the doorway in front of us, as we pass through it we enter what appears to be an underground temple.

"Welcome Matey" A voice calls from across the room.

I looked to see Captain Corn.

"What's going on here?" I ask Captain Corn

"Not much me hearty" Captain Corn says with a smirk, "I'm giving you a change to duel my Corn-tastic self with the Numbers on the line."

"So you're after the Numbers?" I ask with narrowed eyes.

"Correct lad." Captain Corn says with a nod.

"Sorry" I say with a shake of my head, "I'm busy"

"Actually lad." Captain Corn says with a pause before giving a grin that gave me a bad vibe, "That wasn't a choice. He snaps his fingers and ropes shoot out of the wall and wrap around Kotori and pull her to the wall.

"KOTORI!" I yell out in panic.

"If you don't duel me lad, the lass gets it." Captain Corn says with an evil smirk.

"D…" I mutter under my breath my fist shaking in anger. "Damn You!" I yell out grabbing my duel disk from my pocket and sliding it onto my wrist. "Duel Disk-Set!" I yell out activating my duel disk as it turns to Stand-By More. "D-Gazer Set" I say putting on my D-Gazer.

I see Kotori barely manage to put on her own D-Gazer from the corner of my eye.

**"****AR Vision Link Established**" The computer generated voice announces.

"DUEL!" Captain Corn and I yell out. (**Captain Corn: 4000**)(**Ventus: 4000**)

"I'll sail first in our maiden voyage" Captain Corn says, "My turn, Draw!" he yells out drawing his card. "I activate a field spell, Corn Parade" he says as he places the card into the field zone and the surrounding turns into a corn field.

"A corn field." I mutter in shock before sensing something behind me and jumping out of the way. I turn to see Captain Corn cutting down some corn.

"Just trimming it back" he says cutting out a clearing, "What a bumper crop, we can't duel in this stuff" he gripes out.

"This guy's got a few screws loose" I mentally comment.

"Let's try this again" Captain Corn says once a clear area is cut for us. "I summon the plant monster, Catty-Corn!" he says placing the card on the duel disk as a corn like cat monster appears. (**Catty-Corn, Level 4, 1500 Atk**) "I set one card face down and end my turn!" he says as the card materializes face down.

"My Turn!" I state placing two fingers on my deck before looking over at Kotori. "I'll get you out of there soon Kotori." I mentally tell her before gripping the card, "DRAW!" I yell out as I draw my card. I place the card into my hand before grabbing another. "I Summon Wind-Up Dog!" I say placing the card onto the monster zone as the toy dog appears onto the battle field. (**Wind-Up Dog, Level 3, 1200 Atk**) "Next!" I say revealing a monster card in my hand, "When I normal summon a Level 3 Monster I can special summon Kagemucha Knight from my hand" I say placing the card onto the duel disk as the shadowy knight appears next to the toy dog.

"Two Level 3 Mosnters eh?" Captain Corn comments with slight interest.

"Go for it Ven!" Kotori cheers out.

"I overlay my Level 3 Wind-Up Dog and Kagemucha Knight!" I declare out as they turn into Overlay units and enter the Overlay Network, "With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network, Xyz Summon!" I grab a card as it pops out of the extra deck and slap it onto the duel disk. "Come Forth, Rank 3 Wind-Up Zenmaines!" (**Wind-Up Zenmaines, Rank 3, 2100 Def**) "I set two cards and end my turn." I say as the cards materialize face down.

"What's wrong lad, too afraid to go on the offensive with your lass in danger?" Captain Corn taunts

"I'm not gonna attack without a plan!" I snap back.

Captain Corn Smirks, "You got guts kid I'll give you that but that won't win the battle, My turn Draw!" he says drawing his card. "I summon Pappy-Corn!" he says as a corn cob with white hair and a moustache appears on the field. (**Pappy-Corn, Level 4, 1200 Atk**) "And since a field spell is in play Pappy-Corn gains 1000 Atk." He says as the corn monster grows in size. (1200 Atk – 2200 Atk)

"This might be problematic." I mutter under my breath.

"Battle!" Captain Corn yells out, "Pappy-Corn attacks Wind-Up Zenmaines." He orders his monster. "Destroy his Monster!"

"Zenmaines' monster effect!" I yell out throwing my hand into the air. "By detaching an Overlay Unit I save this monster from destruction. "I tell him as I place the Overlay Unit into the Graveyard.

"So you had a plan did ya laddie?" Captain Corn asks before smirking, "But it won't do you much good."

"Nani?" I hiss out.

"I Overlay my Level 4 Pappy-Corn and Catty-Corn" Captain Corn announces as his two monsters fly up into the sky and turn into Overlay units as the galaxy style overlay network opens. "With these two monsters I construct the overlay network." He chants out. "Xyz Summon, Come Forth Number 50!" I black corn cob rises out before a sail extends out and with popping noises the corn cob shifts before transforming into a ship. "Arise, Blackship of Corn!" (**Number 50: Blackship of Corn, Rank 4, 2100 Atk**)

"All right Blackship of Corn, Corn-nihilate that little runt!" Captain Corn tells his Number

"It's here, the Number" I mutter mentally preparing myself for its effect.

"The truly a-maize-ing part of the duel begins now!" Captain Corn Declares.

"Ughh, These puns are gonna kill me." I mentally groan.

"Blackship of Corn, activate your effect!" Captain Corn orders his monster. "Blackship of corn uses one of its overlay units and inflicts damage by using one of your monsters as a Cannonball!" he explains as he detaches the overlay unit and Zenmaines is sucked into the cannon.

"Zenmaines' monster effect!" I yell out.

"Its useless kid, this effect doesn't destroy your monster." Captain Corn informs me.

"Damn!" I hiss out as Zenmaines if fully sucked into the cannon.

"I've got you corn-founded rascall!" Captain Corn says before pointing at me, "FIRE!" he orders as the Number fires its shot, the force sending me flying back into the wall. (**Ventus: 4000 – 2500)**

"VEN!" Kotori screams out in horror.

"I-I'm alright" I say before coughing a bit and tasting iron in my mouth, I put my fingers to my mouth and wipe it and see a red substance, "Blood?" I mentally question before wiping it off on my pants.

"I set two cards face-down, Turn End!" Captain Corn says as his set cards materialize face down. "All right boy, corn-cede your numbers!" He tells me making a grasping motion at me. "and I might take yer lass as well"

"SHUT UP!" I roar grasping my card, "I won't let you lay a hand on my Kotori" I declare with passion, "My…" I start grasping the card. "TURN!" I yell out drawing the card with such force that a blast of wind is generated.

I look at my draw and add it to my hand before looking at Captain Corn. "Why?"

"Why?" Captain Corn asks with a confused tone.

"Why do you hunt the Numbers?" I ask him.

"For my benefactors of course" Captain Corn says like it's an everyday thing, "They helped me out so I became a Numbers Hunter to help them" he explains.

"Another hunter?" I mentally question, "Who are these benefactors?" I question aloud.

"Sorry lad, that's secret." Captain Corn tells me.

"It matters not, I will defeat you and take your Numbers and rescues my Gir-G-G-G-Good friend" I stammer out almost saying "that" word. I take a peek at Kotori out of my peripheral vision and see she is blushing madly.

"Good luck brat, my mentor Roberts was a genius at cards, I'll never lose to the likes of you!" Captain Corn brags.

"If it's a battle of the Aces we're going for then I'll take the challenge" I say grabbing a Card. "I Summon Wind-Up Magician!" I say placing the card onto the duel disk as the Toy Magician appears. (**Wind-Up Magician, Level 4, 600 ATk**) "Next" I say revealing a monster card in my hand, "When I Summon a Wind-Up monster, Wind-Up Shark's effect activates allowing me to special summon him." I explain as I slap the card onto the duel disk as the toy shark appears in a torrent of water. (**Wind-Up Shark, Level 4, 1500 ATk**)

"You came to the wrong party if you brought only toys with you." Captain Corn taunts me.

I ignore his taunts, "At this moment Wind-Up Magician's effect Kicks in" I declare out as Wind-Up Magician lifts its staff into the air. "Once while this card is face up on the field, If a Wind-Up effect is activated, I can search my deck for a Level 4 or lower "Wind-up" and Special Summon it" I explain as I press a few buttons on my duel disk and a card pops out, I grab it and place it onto the Monster Zone. "Stand up, Wind-Up Soldier!" I say as the toy soldier emerges onto the field. (**Wind-Up Soldier, Level 4, 1800 Atk**)

"Trap Card open!" I yell out as left set card flips up. "Artifact Sanctum, due to this card's effect I take an Artifact Monster from my deck and special summon it" I explain as a card pops out from my deck. "Come forth, Artifact Scythe!" I say placing the card onto the duel disk as a scythe appears from the ground with a ghostly image holding it. (**Artifact Scythe, Level 5, 2200 Atk**)

"I've never seen Ven use this monster before." I hear Kotori comment.

"This is the new me." I answer her back, before turning back to the duel. "I Overlay My Level 4 Wind-Up Magician and Wind-Up Shark!" I declare out as the two toy monsters enter the overlay network, "Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Descend now! Xyz Summon! Appear now! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" I chant out as I grab the card from my extra deck and summon it out. (**Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Rank 4, 2500 Atk**)

"It's Here, Dark Rebellion!" Kotori cheers out.

"Wind-Up Soldier's Monster Effect." I declare with a wave of my hand. "Once while this card is face up I can raise its level by 1 and its attack by 400" I explain as the key on Wind-Up Soldier's back begins to turn as it grows in size. (**Level 4-5, 1800 Atk – 2200 Atk**)

"Battle!" I yell out pointing at Number 50, "Wind-Up Soldier attack Number 50!" I order my faithful toy warrior.

"Did ye forget that the Numbers cannot be destroyed by non-numbers?" Captain Corn asks me

"No, I remember well" I say with a shake of my head, "but you'll still take the damage" I tell him.

"Will I lad?" Captain Corn asks in a rhetorical voice.

"Huh?" I question with a raised eyebrow as a scarecrow pops up and takes the attack, "What's going on?" I question.

"Its simple lad" Captain Corn says in a tone that you would use when talking to a moron, "My field spell lets me negate the first attack against plant monsters!" he explains to me.

"In that case, Artifact Scythe!" I order my newest monster as it charges at the ship Number and slashes it. Captain Corn gives of a grunt as his life goes down a bit (**Captain Corn: 4000-3900**)

"Not bad laddie" Captain Corn says in compliment.

"Go, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Attack Number 50!" I order my ace dragon, "Revolt of the lightning, Disobay!"

"I won't let you, you corn-founded thing!" Captain Corn yells out before swiping his hand in the air, "Trap Card, Incorn-Ceivable" he announces as his set card flips open.

"What now?" I mentally question.

"When I've been attacked by a 2500 or more Atk I can special summon Giant Kra-Corn from my deck and have it take the attack!" Captain Corn explains as he grabs a card "Arise, Giant Kra-Corn! (**Giant Kra-Corn, Level 8, 2500 Def**)

"Tch, he blocked it." I bite out as Dark Rebellion's Attack harmlessly bounces off. "I Overlay my Level 5 Artifact Scythe and Wind-Up Soldier" I say as the monsters enter the overlay network, "Xyz Summon, Arise Rank 5 Artifact Durendal!" (**Artifact Durendal, Rank 5, 2400 Atk**) "I set a card and end my turn" I say as I placed the final card in my hand face down.

"My turn." Captain Corn announces, "I Draw!" he says as he draws his card. "Victory is mine, I activate Blackcorn's effect!" he says as he places the overlay unit into the graveyard, I use you Dragon as ammo and inflict 2500 points of damage to you."

"VEN!" Kotori yells out in fear as Dark Rebellion is slowly sucked into the Number.

"I activate Durendal's effect!" I say as I detach an overlay unit "When a monster effect or a normal spell or trap card is activated by my opponent I can detach an overlay unit to change that card's effect to  
"Destroy one spell or trap card your opponent controls."

"Clever brat" Captain Captain Corn says with a smirk "But not clever enough. "Trap card, Cornfused!" he says as his other set card flips open. "This card negates your Monster's effect" he explains as Durendal is captured by a net."

"Oh no." I hear Kotori mutter in worry.

"Counter Trap Seven Tools of the Bandit!" I say as my set card flips open. "By paying 1000 life points I negate the activation of a trap card and destroy it. (**Ventus: 2500 – 1500**)

"Tchh, annoying brat" Captain Corn growls out as his trap card is destroyed. "Fine, I destroy your remaining set card." He says as Blackcorn fires a shot at the set card, it flips up to reveal.

"A Monster card?" Captain Corn asks in shock "But how?"

"The Artifacts are a special series of weapons, they can be set as spells or traps" I explain as the card is desetroyed. "Next when an Artifact is destroyed during the opponent's turn I can Special Summon it from the graveyard." I explain as the graveyard portal opens up and a monster rises out of it, "Come out, Artifact Moralltach!" I say as the sword is grabbed by the energy being. (**Artifact Moralltach, Level 5, 2100 Atk**) "When Moralltach is summoned during my opponent's turn, I can destroy an opponent's face up card" I explain as the energy being grips the sword tighter, "Cleave!" I yell out as Moralltach slashes Kra-Corn in half destroying it.

"Teme" Captain Corn growls out, "At least you can't defeat my Number so I'm safe, Turn End" he says in a confident tone.

"My turn, Draw!" I say drawing my card. "I activate the Continuous Spell, Shard of Greed." I say placing the card into the spell and trap card zone as a broken Pot of Greed appears on the field. "Battle!" I yell out pointing at Blackcorn. "Durendal!" I say as Durendal charges at the Number.

"Useless" Captain Corn says as a scarecrow pops up out of the corn field and stops the attack.

"Dark Rebellion!" I say as my dragon attacks the Numbers. "Revolt of the Lightning, Disobay!"

Captain Corn growls out as he is pushed back a bit (**Captain Corn: 3900 – 3500**)

"Turn End!" I say ending my turn.

"My Turn, Draw!" Captain Corn says drawing his card. "I set a card and end my turn!" he says as the card materializes face down."

"My Turn, Draw!" I yell out drawing a card, "At this moment Shard of Greed's effect activates and it gains 1 Greed Counter" I say as two pieces of the broken Pot of Greed assemble together. "Next I Activate the Quick-Play Spell Artifact Ignition!" I say as I hold up the card, "I destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the Field." I explain as a blaze engulfs the entire field. "I destroy the Field Spell Corn Parade." I say as the Corn Field is burned down.

"Nice Job Ven!" Kotori Cheers out.

Captain Corn just growls in annoyance.

"Next I take an Artifact Monster from my deck and set it into the Spell/Trap card zone." I say as a card pops out of the deck and I set it face down. "Battle, Go Durendal, Dark Rebellion!" Attack Blackcorn." I order my monsters as they charge at the Number.

"Naïve brat!" Captain Corn says at the Monsters charge at him, "Trap Card, Wall of Thorns!" he says as the trap card flips open and a wall of thorns grows out in front of the Number, "When a plant type monster is attacked this card destroyed all Attack Position Monsters my opponent controls."

"Durendal!" I yell out detaching the last overlay unit as Durendel slashes through the wall of thorns and an energy beam floats in the sky. "Choose the card to destroy!" I tell Captain Corn.

"I'll be destroying your Artifact Monster you have set since I know you can only Special Summon 'em on my turn." Captain Corn says as the card flips over to reveal my set **Artifact Priwen **before it is destroyed.

"Attack!" I order my monsters as the slash and claw at the Number. (**Captain Corn, 3500 – 3100 – 2800**) "Turn End." I say putting my hands down and looking over at Kotori. "Just hang on a bit longer Koto." I teller with my eyes.

Kotori nods back at me, her eyes stating nothing but trust and confidence.

"My Turn lad, Draw!" Captain Corn draws his card before smirking. "Ye did a good run but it's over, I Summon Pup-Corn!" he says placing the card on the duel disk as a dog like creature with a body of corn appears. (**Pup-Corn, Level 1, 500 ATk**) "I Activate Pup-Corn's effect!" he says with a swipe of his hand, "If I control a Plant type Xyz monster with no Xyz materials I can attach this card as an Overlay unit." He explains as Pup-Corn turns into a light and begins to orbit Blackcorn.

"Oh no, now he can use his Number's effect again!" Kotori comments in worry, "Ven, be careful" I hear her mutter under her breath.

"Blackcorn's monster effect!" Captain Corn yells out as Blackcorn absorbs the overlay unit and Dark Rebellion is absorbed into the Monster.

"Dark Rebellion!" I yell out in concern for my monster.

"DIE!" Captain Corn yells out with a crazed look as Blackcorn fires its cannon, the explosion enveloping the field consuming me in their flames.

"Noooooooooooooo" I hear Kotori scream out.

"It's over brat, you fought well though." Captain Corn says before the field clears up revealing a monster in front of me, "What?" he yells out.

"Whew, that was close, if you had destroyed my Shard of Greed I would have lost." I say as I dust off some imaginary dust. (**Artifact Priwen, Level 5, 2000 Def**)

"What happened?" Captain Corn hisses out.

"It's simple" I say with a motion of my hand, "If I would take effect damage while Priwen is in my Graveyard, if I have an Artifact monster on the field, I can negate that Damage and Special Summon from the Graveyard."

Captain Corn smirks, "Not bad brat, your better than the other swabbies who came earlier."

I frowned "What Happened to them?"

"Who knows?" he says in a dismissive tone.

I clench my fist. "Teme." I hiss out.

"Turn end." Captain Corn announces as he ends his turn.

I feel my body shake in anger, "You make children who admired you suffer just for something as stupid as cards." I hiss out.

Captain Corn picks at his teeth, "So what?"

That makes me snap a bit, "My Turn!" I yell drawing as the card flashes red for a brief second. "At this moment Shard of Greed, gets its second counter." I say as the final piece of the broken pot merges with the others, "I sent the restored jar to the graveyard to draw two cards." I say as the restored Pot of Greed vanishes and I draw two cards.

"Magic Card **Return of Rebellion**!" I say slamming a card into the duel disk as the graveyard portal opens. "I target a Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon in my graveyard and special summon it" I say as Dark Rebellion raises from the graveyard portal. "And then this spell card becomes an overlay unit. "I finish as Return of Rebellion starts to orbit Dark Rebellion.

"Dark Rebellion." I hear Kotori cheer happily at the return of my avatar.

"I Overlay my Priwen and Moralltach!" I say as they enter the Overlay Network, "Xyz Summon, Rank 5, Constellar Pleiades!" I say as the knight of light emerges from the network. (**Constellar Pleiades, Rank 5, 2500 Atk**)

"When are you gonna summon your Number lad, I know ye have 'em." Captain Corn inquires.

"Never." I respond. "I may hold then, but I don't like to use them.

"If you use it or not, matters not this duel will still end in my victory" Captain Corn says in confidence.

"I Release Artifact Durendal to activate the Mini-guts spell card!" I say as the spell card appears on the field and Durendal gets absorbed into the card." And then Blackcorn's attack become zero." I explain as a beam fires out of the card and the Number is reduced in strength. (**2100 Atk – 0 Atk**)

"What?" Captain Corn growls out.

"I Activate Armored Xyz" I say placing the card into the spell and trap card zone.

"That's Shark's card." Kotori comments.

I nod, "He gave me a copy after the tag duel I had with him." I explain to her as the graveyard portal opens. "I equip Durendal to Dark Rebellion and its attack becomes equal to Durendal." I explain as Dark Rebellion grasps Durendal in its teeth. (**Dark Rebellion 2500 Atk – 2400 Atk**)

"So ye lowered yar monster's attack, must be an effect if you risk that." Captain Corn comments.

"Battle!" I yell out pointing at Number 50 Dark Rebellion Revolt of the Ancient Lightning, Disobey.

"Gahhh" Captain Corn yells out as he is thrown back from the attack. (**Captain Corn: 2800 – 400**)

"Gnrrgh, I've never lost so much life before." Captain Corn growls out as he stands up. "Just to be on the safe side, I'll use my trump card." He says

"Trump Card?" I mentally ask with narrowed eyes.

"Take a look at this." Captain Corn says as a screen pops up showing some kids in a coaster. "Launch one more attack and I'll send the next coaster into the abyss!" he says flipping the switch to "Abyss"

"WHAT?!" I yell out in anger.

"How cruel." I hear Kotori mutter sadly.

"That's dirty, all those kids came to see you" I yell at him.

"Like I care!" Captain Corn bites back

I felt something inside me snap at this guy's attitude toward the kids.

"I Activate Armored Xyz's effect!" I say in a monotone voice as Durendal disappears. "I can send the equipped card to the graveyard to allow Dark Rebellion to attack again. (**Dark Rebellion 2400 Atk -2500 Atk**) "Battle, Dark Rebellion attack Number 50. I command the dragon as it charges at the Number.

"Do you not care about the kids?!" Captain Corn yells out.

Dark Rebellion spins around and hits the switch with its tail causing the tracks to go back to the right position.

"WHAT?!" Captain Corn yells out.

"Revolt of the Lightning, Disobey!" I call out as Dark Rebellion fires at Number 50, the explosion from the attack sending debris flying.

"Kotori!" I yell out running in front of her, "Guhh" I hiss out as a piece of stone cuts under my left eye making about an inch long cut.

"VEN!" Kotori screams out in worry.

"I-I'm alright." I tell her as the smoke clears revealing Captain Corn as his life drops to Zero. (**Captain Corn: 800 – 0**) (**Ventus: WIN!**)

"You did it Ven" Kotori Cheers

"Yeah, now let's get back to our date." I tell her as I hold out my hand and retrieve the Number and put it into my deck box.

"You brats!" Captain Corn hisses out standing up.

I stand protectively in front of Kotori.

"I won't let you leave" Captain Corn says as he clicks a device before a series of explosions surround the area and the floor collapses and Kotori and I fall into the Abyss.

-Zexal-

(**I was planning to cut it here, but I thought I'd extend it a bit as an apology for being a bit late with the chapter update, and to give you a sneak at what is going on next episode with the Thunder Spark duel.**)

The wind whipped past my hair as we fell down the pit. Kotori was falling a lot faster due to the stone she was attached to, I knew that at this velocity if she it she ground with that it could be fatal, I snapped my arms and legs together to reduce wind resistance and shot down ward.

"Ven!" Kotori states as I descend to her level.

I do a mid-air flip and smash my foot into the rock Kotori is attached to breaking it into pieces. I saw the ground was coming up fast so I made a split second decision. I quickly pulled Kotori into my chest.

"V-Ven." Kotori stammers out.

I quickly flip over just before we hit the ground. "Guhhh." I wheeze out as the impact knocks the wind out of me. "Are you alright?" I ask Kotori.

"I should be asking you that Ven." Kotori says in a concerned tone as she slides off my chest.

"I'm Fi…" I begin to say before hissing out in pain, I think a rib was bruised in the impact.

"See you're not alright." Kotori says poking me.

I wince a bit at that, "I don't care, if it means you're safe I'll take any injury." I tell her.

"That's sweet Ven" Kotori says with a smile, "Here, I always carry some medical supplies on me just in case" she says as she pulls out some bandages. "Take your shirt off."

I smirk at her, "Oh, eager to see me naked are you?" I tease her

"NOT LIKE THAT YOU BAKA!" She yells slamming the purse into my head.

I let out a hearty laugh. "I know, I know." I say as I take off my shirt.

"This won't take long." Kotori says as she wraps the bandages around my chest. The feeling of her fingers sending sparks through my body. "Done she says putting the bandages away as I put my shirt back on.

"Thanks, Kotori!" I tell her as I put my vest back on but don't zip it up."

"No problem Ven." Kotori says with a smile before frowning.

"What?" I ask her

"Your face." Kotori says pointing at the left side of my face.

I run my fingers over where she's pointing and wince. I remember the cut I got from protecting Kotori.

"It looks pretty deep, you might have to get stiches." Kotori comments.

I nod, "Its fine" I assure her.

"At least let me patch it up." Kotori says as she pulls out a small band-aid and places it over the cut. "And to make it all better." She says as she kisses me on said spot. I feel my entire face heat up fast as that.

-Zexal-

"So where are we?" I ask standing up after Kotori finished patching me up.

"I have no idea" Kotori comments as suddenly a bunch of bright lights turn on making me have to cover my eyes, when my eyes fully adjust I realize were in some sort of underground tunnel network… almost like a, "Raceway." I mutter under my breath.

"So you guys are my next victims." I hear a male voice say before a figure walks out of the shadows. "I am Thunder Spark and I welcome you to my course" the now named Thunder Spark introduces himself.

I look at Thunder Spark, "Are you another Hunter like Captain Corn?" I ask him.

"Correct!" Thunder Spark answers, "And on this course we shall…" he begins before I notice his gaze lock onto Kotori. I blink when his eyes literally turn into giant hearts and he suddenly appears in front of us spinning wildly. "OH, what kind deal of fate has been dealt to allow this goddess to descend in front of my eyes?" he yells out in a lovey tone.

"Back off!" I yell at Thunder Spark putting a protective hard on Kotori.

"Don't touch her you shitty eggplant!" Thunder Spark yells out me slamming his head into mine.

"Don't call me eggplant you sparky bastard!" I yell pushing my head against him. "Kotori is mine!"

"Ahh Kotori-chwaan!" Thunder Spark says doing his crazy spin again.

I feel like my teeth are about to break from the grinding I'm doing. "Enough!" I yell out "We came to duel."

"And When I win I'll get your shitty Numbers and get Kotori-Chwan to go on a date with me." Thunder Spark says in lover mode again.

"Bring it!" I say reaching for my duel disk. "But I won't lose, for Kotori!" I state with passion.

"Hold on a minute, this is a special duel!" Thunder Spark Says making me Halt.

"A Special Duel?" I parrot

"Yes." Thunder Spark says as he snaps his fingers causing a spotlight to shine on two previously shadowed vehicles, what appear to be motorcycles. "We shall use these machines called the D-Wheel to participate in what is called a Riding Duel." He explains.

"Riding Duel?" I question

Thunder Spark nods, "It used to be a worldwide phenomenon long ago, duelists would lock into combat in a world of speed, flying through the streets with their monsters on their side." He explains, "It was especially popular in a place called Neo Domino City.

"Interesting!" I comment going up to a d-wheel. I sat down on one and got a feel for it. I felt like I could do it. I notice a helmt and a gauntlet with a deck holder on it. I put on the Helmet and put the gauntlet on my left arm and put my deck into it.

"Do you know how to use one?" Thunder Spark asks as he gets on the D-Wheel beside me and puts on his helmet.

When he wasn't flirting with Kotori he wasn't that bad, "No, but shouldn't be to hard" I tell him.

Thunder Spark Nods.

"Toss me an Extra Helmet" I order Thunder Spark.

"Why?" Thunder Spark asks raising an eyebrow.

I point at Kotori, "She's riding with me, I don't trust you after what Captain Corn did and held her hostage.

"Damn that shitty geezer" Thunder Spark hisses out, "How dare he attack a lady, fine." Thunder Spark says as he pulls out a spare helmet and tosses it.

"Thanks." I say as I catch it before holding it out to Kotori. "Here put this on." I tell Kotori.

"I-I don't think its safe" Kotori Protests.

"Trust me." I tell her holding out my hand.

Kotori gives a pondering look, "I trust you, Ven" Kotori says putting on the helmet "Here Ven this is my way of supporting you." She says as she takes a card from the deck I gave her earlier and hands it to me.

"Thanks Koto." I tell her as I place the card into my deck.

Kotori give a nod and climbs on behind me.

"Hold on tight" I tell Kotori, I feel her arms wrap gently around my waist. I slowly push the D-Wheel up beside Thunder Spark.

"Ready?" He questions.

I nod

"In that case, Field Magic Speed World – Neo Set on!" Thunder Spark says pressing a button.

"Duel Mode, Auto Pilot on Standby!" the D-Wheel Chirps as the duel disk activates.

**AR Vision Link Established!** The computerized voice states, I realize that the Helmet had a built in D-Gazer function.

A small countdown timer appears in front of us. **3**

I lean forward and grip the throttle.

**2**

I rev the engine a bit.

**1**

"Hold on tight." I tell Kotori again.

**Go!** An air horn sounds as I rev the engine causing the D-wheel to lift up slightly, Kotori yells out and grips my waist tighter as the D-Wheel shoots forward along with Thunder Sparks

"Riding Duel, ACCELERATION!"

-Zexal-

OC Cards:

Pup-Corn, Earth, Plant, Level 1, 500 Atk, 200 Def: If you control a face up Plant Type Xyz Monster with no Xyz Materials attached to it you can attach this card on field to that Xyz Monster.

Artifact Priwen, Light, Fairy, Level 5, 1800 Atk 2000 Def: You can Set this card from you hand to your Spell &amp; Trap card zone as a Spell Card. During your opponent's turn, when this set card in the Spell &amp; Trap card zone is destroyed and send to your Graveyard: Special Summon it. During either player's turn, if this card is in your graveyard while you control a face up Artifact Monster, If your opponent activates a card effect that would deal effect damage to you Special Summon this card from the graveyard: if you do Negate the Damage you would have taken.

Return of Rebellion, Normal Spell: Target 1 Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon in your Graveyard and Special Summon it, then attach this card as an Xyz Material to Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. You cannot Summon the turn you activate this effect, except for Xyz Summon.


	15. Chapter 15: Lightning Fast Duel!

**Chapter 15: Lightning Fast Duel in the World of Speed, My Name is Thunder Spark**

_An air horn sounds as I rev the engine causing the D-wheel to lift up slightly, Kotori yells out and grips my waist tighter as the D-Wheel shoots forward along with Thunder Sparks_

_"__Riding Duel, ACCELERATION!"_

-Zexal-

Thunder Spark and I race forward down the underground tunnels.

"The first person to take the first corner goes first." Thunder Spark explains as he accelerates.

I nod and accelerate myself racing Thunder Spark toward the first corner.

The two of us were neck and neck racing towards the first corner, I knew I had to go first since Thunder Spark's fighting style was an unknown to me. "Hang on very tightly Kotori." I tell her.

"OK." Kotori answers and wraps her arms tightly around my waist.

"Here we go." I say as I rev the engine and drift right so I'm driving on the wall of the U shaped tunnels, causing Kotori to scream out in shock, I accelerate so I make a full circle on the roof, over shooting Thunder Spark and taking the Corner.

(**Ventus: 4000, Hand: 5**) (**Thunder Spark: 4000, Hand: 5**)

"You Okay?" I check on Kotori.

"Y-Yeah." Kotori weakly stammers.

"That's good." I say before placing my hand on my deck. "My Turn, Draw!" I say drawing before placing it into the hand holder on my wrist.

"You know, you're really good at driving this thing." Kotori Comments.

I shrug, "It just feels natural" I tell her before grabbing a card from my hand. I Normal Summon Summoner Monk from my Hand." I say placing the card onto the duel disk as a Monk appears and begins flying beside us. (**Summoner Monk, Level 4, 800 ATK**) "And then due to its effect, when it's summoned it goes into defense position." I explain as Summoner Monk's color scheme goes blue (**800 ATk – 1600 Def**) "Furthermore, I activate Summoner Monk's effect!" I state with a sweep of my hand. "By discarding a spell card." I explain as I place Galaxy Wave into the graveyard, "I can Special Summon a Level 4 Monster from my Deck, Come out, Wind-Up Shark!" I yell out as the Toy Shark appears on the field. (**Wind-Up Shark, Level 4, 1500 Atk**)

"Bring it." Thunder Spark states.

"I Overlay my Level 4 Summoner Monk and Wind-Up Shark." I yell out as they enter the Overlay Network, "With these two Level 4 Monsters, I build the Overlay Network." I chant out, "This one's for you Kotori." I tell her as a card pops out of the extra deck, XYZ SHOUKAN! Cheer, Rank 4 Fairy Cheer Girl!" I call out as the Tiny Fairy Xyz Monster Kotori gave me earlier is summoned out. (**Fairy Cheer Girl, Rank 4, 1900 Atk**)

"What a Cute Monster!" Thunder Spark yells out somehow spinning his D-Wheel in a circle.

Fairy Cheer Girl gives Thunder Spark a little heart wink.

"I Activate Fairy Cheer Girl's effect!" I yell out, pulling attention back to the duel, "I detach an overlay unit and draw a card." I explain as an Overlay Unit is absorbed into Cheer Girl's pom pom's and she does a little cheer as I draw a card. I look at my draw for a sec, "I set two cards and end my turn!" I explain as the two cards materialize face down. (**Ventus, Hand: 3)**

"My Move, Draw!" (**Hand: 6**) Thunder Spark says drawing his card. "Watch me closely Kotori-chwaan!" Thunder Spark yells out. I feel a tic mark form on my forehead.

"Annoyance." I hear Kotori grumble under her breath that shocked me a bit because I had never heard Kotori say anything negative about a person.

"I Summon Mahunder!" Thunder Spark says slapping a card onto the duel disk as a lightning lady appears in a flurry of lightning boats. (**Mahunder, Level 4, 1400 Atk**) "Next Due to Mahunder's effect I summon Pahunder from my hand." He explains as a male version of Mahunder appears. (**Pahunder, Level 4, 1300 Atk**) "I activate the spell card double summon." Thunder Spark says as he puts the spell into the duel disk. "I can Normal Summon an additional time this turn, "Come out Sishunder. (**Sishunder, Level 4, 900 Atk**)

"Is it coming?" I mentally ask.

"Next I activate the effect of Brohunder in my hand!" Thunder Spark Says showing a card, if I control two or more Hunder Monsters with different names I can special summon it." He says slapping the card onto the duel disk/ (**Brohunder, Level 4, 900 Atk**)

"Four Level Four Monsters." I mutter under my breath.

"I activate the effect of Ontonari Thunder from my deck!" Thunder Spark Yells out.

"What?!" I yell out in shock.

"From the Deck?" Kotori questions.

"When I have four Thunder Monsters in play, I can special Summon this card from my deck!" Thunder Spark explains as a card pops out and he hits it onto the duel disk. "Come Out, Ontonari Thunder!" (**Otonari Thunder, Level 4, 500 Atk**) "Now I overlay all five monsters!" Thunder Spark yells out as all 5 monsters turn into overlay units and fly into the sky.

"Five Monsters in an overlay?" I question.

"With these Five Level 4 Monsters I build the Overlay Network!" Thunder Spark Chants out as they enter the galaxy style overlay network. "Xyz Shoukan! Come forth, Number 91: Thunder Spark Dragon!" (**Number 91: Thunder Spark Dragon, Rank 4, 2400 Atk**)

"Found you, Numbers!" I mutter.

"You can beat it Ven!" Kotori cheers.

"Yeah." I say with a nod. "But with five overlay units, its effect might be problematic." I comment as I swerve a bit to avoid some debris on the course.

"Correct." Thunder Spark says with a smirk, "I shall make you understand just how terrifying Thunder Spark Dragon's ability is." He announces, "I Detach three Overlay units." He says as Thunder Spark Dragon devours three of the overlay units." "When Thunder Spark Dragon uses three Overlay units it destroys all monsters on the opponent's field." Thunder Spark explains, "Sorry about this madam." He says to Fairy Cheer as the monster panics a bit.

"Trap card open!" I yell out as a set card flips open **Zenmaishield**, when a monster I control would be destroyed, I negate that destruction and then summon a Wind-Up to my field from my deck in defense position." I explain as a card pops out of the deck. "Come out Wind-Up Magician!" (**Wind-Up Magician, Level 4, 1800 Def**)

Fairy Cheer Girl gives me a small hug around my arm in thanks. Kotori chuckles at the little Xyz's antics.

"Tchh" Thunder Spark hisses out, "In that Case, Battle Thunder Spark Dragon attack Wind-Up Magician!" he orders his monster.

"Why Magician and not Fairy Cheer Girl?" I question Thunder Spark.

"My Chivalry would never allow me to attack a lady!" Thunder Spark says as Wind-Up Magician is destroyed by the attack.

"What about when you tried to destroy it earlier with a card effect?" I question.

"…. That's different" Thunder Spark says after a long pause.

"This guy is weird." I hear Kotori mutter under her breath.

"I Activate the Continuous Spell, Spirit Converter!" Thunder Spark says as a strange device appears on his field. "I Activate the effect of Brohunder in my graveyard." He says as the card is ejected from the graveyard. "If this card was sent there by detaching it from a Xyz Monster I can remove it from play to choose two Hunder monsters with different names in my graveyard and add them to my hand."

"This could spell trouble," I comment softly.

"I add back Mahunder and Pahunder." Thunder Spark says grabbing the mentioned cards and placing them into his hand holder, "Turn End." He says ending his turn. (**Thunder Spark: Hand 2**)

"My turn, Draw." I say drawing my card. (**Ventus, Hand: 4**) I looked at my Hand, I didn't have any good offensive plays yet. I looked at Fairy Cheer Girl for a moment before deciding on a move, "I Summon Wind-Up Knight!" I say calling out the Toy Knight. (**Wind-Up Knight, Level 4, 1800 Atk**) "I Set a card and end my turn!" I say as the set card materializes face down. (**Hand: 2**)

We pass through a Tunnel and ender into a large underground cavern.

"What is this?" I mutter to myself.

"Heh, Heh, Heh." Thunder Spark chuckles, "Do you really think you can stop my Thunder Monsters?" he questions rhetorically. "My Turn, Draw!" He yells out drawing his card. "I Normal Summon Mahunder and through its effect I summon Pahunder!" he says calling out his two Hunder parents again.

"Is another Xyz Monster Coming?" I mentally question.

"Next I release these two monsters to activate Sprit Converter's effect and give an Overlay unit to Thunder Spark Dragon." Thunder Spark explains as the two parent Hunders are absorbed into the device and a single overlay unit is spit out and orbits Thunder Spark Dragon.

"Tchh, now he can use that effect again." I hiss out.

"I Set one card and end my turn!" Thunder Spark says at the set card materializes. (**Hand: 0**)

"My Turn, DARW!" (**Hand 3**) I yell out as I draw my card, I smirk when I see it. "If you hadn't been so caught up in recovering that overlay unit I might have been in trouble.

"Nani?" Thunder Spark hisses out.

"I Summon Wind-Up Warrior." I say as the second Toy soldier appears on the field. (**Wind-Up Warrior, Level 4, 1200 Atk**) "Now I activate Fairy Cheer Girl's effect!" I announce with a wave of my hand. "I detach an Overlay Unit to draw a card." I draw my card and place it into my hand. "Next I Overlay my Level 4 Wind-Up Knight and Wind-Up Warrior!" I announce as the two monsters turn into overlay units and enter into the Overlay Network, "With these two Level 4 Monsters I construct the Overlay Network." I chant out, "Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Descend now! Xyz Summon! Appear now! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" I call out as my ace Dragon appears on the field letting out a roar. (**Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Rank 4, 2000 Atk**

At Dark Rebellions roar Fairy Cheer Girl panics a bit and flies over to hide behind Kotori's shoulder.

"It's okay." Kotori assures the little fairy.

Fairy Cheer Girl slowly comes out from behind Kotori and flies slowly up to Dark Rebellion, Dark Rebellion gives off a low growl causing Fairy Cheer Girl to halt, before Dark Rebellion leans forward and nuzzles Fairy Cheer Girl causing the little Xyz to Smile and give out a cheer dance.

"They're funny." Kotori comments.

"Yeah." I say with a nod, "Battle!" I yell out pointing at Thunder Spark Dragon, "Dark Rebellion Attack Thunder Spark Dragon. "Revolt of the Lightning, Disobey!"

"It won't work." Thunder Spark Suddenly announces.

"What?" I question in response.

"Trap Card Open!" Thunder Spark yells out as his set card flips open, "Dragon Booster, when my opponent declares an attack on a Dragon type monster this card raises its attack by 500 (**Thunder Spark Dragon: 2400 Atk – 2900 Atk)**

"Oh no, now Dark Rebellion will be destroyed." Kotori comments in worry.

"Trap Card Open, **XYZ Union**!" I yell out as one of my set card flips up. "Here's how it works, First I choose an Xyz monster on my side of the field with no materials and then I equip it to an Xyz Monster with Materials, I equip Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon with Fairy Cheer Girl." I say as Fairy Cheer Girl hops onto Dark Rebellion's back and gives a little cheer dance. "The equipped monster goes up in strength equal to the card that was equipped. (**Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon 2500 Atk – 4400 Atk**)

"F-Four thousand Four Hundred attack?!" Thunder Spark Stammers out before smirking. "Well Played." He compliments as the damage hits him and he swerves a bit before regaining control. (**Thunder Spark: (4000 – 2500**) "But since Your Dragon is not a Number I don't have to worry about Thunder Spark being destroyed." Thunder Spark Comments as the Number emerges unscathed.

We enter a bit of a dark tunnel, a bit later a bunch of bats fly at us causing Kotori to scream and bury her face into my shoulder, I swerve a bit to avoid the bats. "It's all right Koto." I tell her when we get past the small "Obstacle"

"Thanks Ven" Kotori says keeping her face in my shoulder.

"You Bastard how dare you take advantage of Kotori-chwan like that." Thunder Spark hisses out.

"I Set a card and end my turn." I growl out in annoyance as the set card appears face down. (Ventus - **Hand: 1**)

"My Turn, Draw!" Thunder Spark yells out drawing his card. "I Send Thunder Sea Horse to the Graveyard to add two copies of Batteryman AAA to my Hand!" he says as he sends the drawn card to the graveyard and two cards slide out of the deck.

"More Monster swarming" I say in a guess recognizing the card.

"I Summon Batteryman AAA" Thunder Spark says placing the card onto the duel disk. (**Batteryman AAA, Level 4, 0 Atk**) "When Batteryman AAA is Normal Summoned I can Special Summon another copy from my hand!" he says placing the Card onto the duel disk as the two humanoid batteries appear on the field. "I Release both and Turn them into an overlay unit for Thunder Spark Dragon with Spirit Converter." Thunder Spark says as the two monsters are absorbed into Sprit Converter and another overlay is added to Thunder Spark Dragon (**OVl: 3-4**)

"Now there's four overlay units, but why didn't he use the effect?" I mentally question, "Maybe." I comment in realization before looking at my field making a mental counter plan to what might come.

"My Turn, Draw!" I yell out as I draw my card. "Battle!" I yell out pointing at Thunder Spark Dragon, "Dark Rebellion Attacks Thunder Spark Dragon, Revolt of the Lightning, Disobey!" I yell out as Dark Rebellion rams into Thunder Spark Dragon.

Thunder Spark Gives off a growl as his life drops (**Thunder Spark Dragon: 1000**)

"I Set two cards and end my turn!" I say as I fill the last two Spell and Trap card zones with my hand. (**Hand: 0**)

"My Turn, Draw!" Thunder Spark Yells as he draws before giving a wave, "Kotori-Chwaan watch my move closely." He yells out causing Kotori to groan into my back in annoyance. "I Summon Electrode Beast Cation!" Thunder Spark says as he summons out the new Thunder Monster." (**Electrode Beast Cation, Level 2, 300 Atk**) "Due to its effect I summon Electrode Beast Anion from my deck." He announces as a Second monster appears on the field. (**Electrode Beast Anion, Level 2, 300 Atk** "I turn them into an overlay unit using Spirit Converter!" (**Ovl: 4 – 5**)

"Five overlay units, is it coming?" I question to myself.

"Due to the effects of Anion and Cation when they both leave the field I draw a card!" Thunder Spark explains as he draws a card, "I Set once card face down!" he says as the card materializes face down.

"There must be a reason he recovered all 5 overlay units." I comment.

"Heh Heh" Thunder Spark Chuckles "Good guess, you're correct!" Thunder Spark announces as he throws his hand into the air, "I Detach 5 Overlay Units from my Dragon." He announces as the Dragon swallows up all 5 overlay units. "And it destroys all cards on your field!" he announces.

"WHAT?!" I yell out in shock at the strong ability.

"THUNDER SPARK BOLT!" Thunder Spark yells out as the Dragon lets out a massive electrical discharge.

"I Activate the Secondary Effect of Xyz Union!: I yell out throwing my hand into the air, "By Returning Fairy Cheer Girl to the Extra Deck I save Dark Rebellion from Destruction." I say as Fairy Cheer girl hops off Dark Rebellion and gives a small cheer dance for Dark Rebellion before turning into card form and entering the extra deck. (**Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon 4400 Atk – 2500 Atk**)

"So you saves your monster but your other cards are gone!" Thunder Spark says as all the other set cards on my field are destroyed!"

"Damn" I growl out.

"Ven" Kotori mutters in worry gripping my shoulder.

"I'm Fine." I tell her.

"But not for long." Thunder Spark says as he points at Dark Rebellion!" Thunder Spark Dragon Attack Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" He orders the Number Monster as it fires a bolt of lightning at Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon.

"I Activate a Trap Card from the Graveyard!"

"A Trap from the Grave?" Thunder Spark questions in shock.

"**Shield of Rebellion**" I say as the trap card appears from the graveyard. "Just once, I can banish this card from the graveyard and a face-up Xyz monster I control can't be destroyed in battle." I say as a barrier appears in front of Dark Rebellion. I grunt and swerve a bit before regaining balance almost crashing into a stalagmite as my life falls by 400. (**Ventus: 3600**)

"Whew that was close" I breathe out.

"You survived but not for long, you have no cards in your hand and your entire field is empty except for a monster that can't hope to beat mine, Soon I'll win" he says before spinning around again, "And then Kotori-Chwaan will go on a date with me" he says in a giddy voice.

"He's right" I mentally comment, I'm in a bad situation if I don't draw the correct Card I'm done for" I mentally comment placing a hand on my deck.

Kotori puts her hand on my shoulder, "You can do it Ven" She says in a cheer.

"Thanks Kotori" I say with a smile and close my eyes the wind whipping past my face, "Kotori's right." I mentally tell myself, "I just need to believe" "I BELIVE!" I yell out loudly grasping the card, "DRAW!" I yell out drawing the card and opening my eyes, I turn it over slowly and a wide grin breaks out on my face when I see it. "I use Thunder Spark Dragon as Tribute to Special Summon Volcanic Queen to your side of the Field!" I declare as Thunder Spark Dragon is swallowed up by a Flaming salamander." (**Volcanic Queen, Level 6, 2500 Atk**)

"What Tributing my own Monster?!" Thunder Spark Yells out in shock

"I Activate Dark Rebellion's Monster Effect!" I yell out with a sweep of my hand, "By Detaching an Overlay Unit, until the End Phase It can half the attack power of a Level 5 or higher monster and gain that amount." I explain as Volcanic Queen is trapped in a barrier of purple lightning generated by Dark Rebellion. "Treason Discharge!" (**Volcanic Queen: 2500 Atk – 1250**) (**Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon 2500 Atk – 3750**)

"Once More!" I yell out as Dark Rebellion absorbs the second Overlay Unit, "Treason Discharge!" (**Volcanic Queen: 1250 Atk – 625 Atk**) (**Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, 3750 Atk – 4375 Atk**)

"4-4,375 Attack?!" Thunder Spark Stammers out.

"BATTLE!" I yell out my eyes narrowing a bit, "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon Attacks Volcanic Queen" I announce as I point at the Monster, "Revolt of the Lightning, Disobey!"

"Trap card Open." Thunder Spark yells out as his set card flips open. "Holy Barrier – Mirror Force, this card destroys your attacking monster" he explains.

"Oh NO!" Kotori gasps out

"I Activate the Continuous Trap Phantom Des Spear from my graveyard!" I say as the Grave Portal opens up and a card comes out of it.

"Another card from the graveyard?" Thunder Spark questions.

"When you activate a Trap Card, I can remove this card from play and inflict 100 points of Damage to you!" I explain as the card turns into a spear and launches at Thunder Spark.

"Gahhh!" Thunder Spark yells out as his life drops by 100 (**Thunder Spark 1000 Lp – 900 Lp)**

"The Battle Continues, Go Dark Rebellion Dragon!" I yell out as my Dragon pierces the volcanic ruler and destroys it.

"Gaaaahhhhhhh!" Thunder Spark Yells out as he swerves and crashes into a wall. (**Thunder Spark: 900 – 0**) (**Ventus: WIN!**)

"Oi you alright!" I yell out pulling up next to him and running over to him.

"Heh Heh Heh, Y-You're Good!" Thunder Spark says coughing up a bit of blood.

"Don't try to talk, we'll get you some help." I tell him

"I-It's no use." Thunder Spark says coughing up a bit more blood, "I was born with a weak body so I had a death sentence my whole life, I was glad I could at least have one last duel with a great rival." He says with a smile.

"Yeah." I say weakly smiling.

Thunder Spark weakly holds up a card to me. "I leave my hopes and dreams with you." He says as he spurts a bit of blood onto the card.

I grasp the card. "I understand" I tell him taking the card.

"Oh and sorry for flirting with your girlfriend." Thunder Spark apologizes.

"It's fine." I tell me, the mood wasn't right for me to yell at him about Kotori not being my Girlfriend.

Thunder Spark looks at Kotori, "He's a good one, Keep him cl….ose." he weakly finishes before the life leaves his eyes and his body vanishes into a spark of electricity.

Kotori pulls me into a hug and cries into my shoulder, I look at the Card Thunder Spark gave me for a moment, It was the Number I slide it into my Number holder and hug Kotori rubbing soothing circles on her back to comfort her.

-Zexal—

"Come on let's get out of these tunnels." I tell Kotori after a few moments and pick up the D-Wheel and climb on.

Kotori Silently nods and climbs on behind me and wraps her arms around my shoulders and leans into my shoulder taking comfort in my warmth.

I rev the engine a bit before taking off into the tunnels slowly, looking for a way out while I silently mourned a fallen Comrade and Rival.

-Zexal-

Question for you guys, Should Ven keep the D-Wheel after the arc or lose it?

Made up Cards:

Zenmaisheild, Trap Card Normal; When exactly 1 Face-Up Xyz Monster you control would be destroyed, Negate that Destruction. Then you Can Special Summon 1 Wind-Up Monster who's Level is Equal to the Rank of that Monster from your deck in Defense Position, It's effects are Negated.

Xyz Union; Trap Card, Normal: Target 1 Face-Up Xyz Monster you control with no Xyz Materials, Equip it to a face-up Xyz Monster on the field with an Overlay Unit, the equipped monster gains attack equal to the monster that was equiped to it. If the equipped monster would be destroyed you can return the Xyz that is equipped to it to the extra deck to negate that distruction.

Sheild of Rebellion; Trap Card, Normal: Target 1 Face-Up Xyz Monster you Control: It gains 1000 Attack. If this card is in your graveyard, Once per duel; If an Xyz Monster you control would be destroyed by battle you can banish this card, negate the destruction from that battle only.


	16. Chapter 16: Rescue Kotori!

Welcome to the final chapter in the Amusement Park/Date arc. Heads up this chapter is a bit darker then the others.

Ven's D-Wheel looks like Shun's from arc V with some gray trim along the edges

**Chapter 16: Rescue Kotori from the blazing inferno! Ventus VS the Doll Princess.**

I kept on driving through the tunnels, Kotori and I keeping silent still affected by the death we just saw.

"Hey you okay?" I ask Kotori breaking the silence.

"Y-Yeah." Kotori states weakly.

"Sorry." I apologize to her.

"Huh, What for?" Kotori questions.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." I tell her "I meant for this to be a fun date but it went way downhill."

"It's ok." Kotori says with a small wave of her hand. "I know you didn't mean for to happen"

"Well I promise I'll make it up to you." I tell her as I see a light in the distance, "There's our exit" I say as we pass through the tunnel and into the daylight. By the position of the sun I judged it was about 4 in the afternoon.

"We made it out." Kotori comments.

"Yeah." I say looking around, "But where are we?" I question we were in a part of Heartland I didn't recognize, there was a huge mansion behind us.

"Should we ask for directions?" Kotori questions pointing at the Mansion

"Good idea" I tell her as I park the D-Wheel in a safe place and the two of us walk up the pathway to the iron gates.

-Zexal-

"EXCUSE ME!" I yell out loudly when Kotori and I reach the gates to the mansion.

"CAN SOMEONE HELP US?" Kotori yells as well.

After a bit there's no answer. "HELLO!" I yell out again knocking on the gate causing it to open.

I raise my eye brow a bit at how easily it opened up before stepping through it.

"Ven, I don't think we should barge in" Kotori says in protest.

I step back through the gate and put my hand on her shoulder. "We're just gonna go in and ask for directions and head back home, okay?" I ask her

"Yeah." Kotori says with a nod before grasping my hand with hers.

"Let's go." I tell her tightening my grip softly as we head up toward the mansion.

-Zexal-

Once we get to the door I gently knock on the door. "Excuse me." I say as I rap on the door, causing it to open.

Kotori and I step into the foyer. I take a quick look over and notice the gothic interior full of dolls. "ANYONE HOME?!" I yell out.

No answer.

"Is this place abandoned?" Kotori questions

"I don't know." I tell her, "let's look around and check."

"Right." Kotori nods as we head deeper into the mansion.

-Zexal—

"What is the place?" Kotori questions about the dark interior.

"Who knows." I say with a shrug looking over at all the dolls lining around the room. I look over at one set of seven dolls, I walk up closer to them.

"Ven?" Kotori questions.

I look at the dolls, "Emperor, Princess, Knight, Dragon Tamer, Gladiator, Warrior, and Tyrant." I mutter under my breath as each name of the doll's name flashes through my mind.

"You alright Ven?" Kotori questions putting her hand on my shoulder.

I shake my head, "Yeah" I say giving a small wave of my hand. "Why do I know these names?" I mentally question. "Let's move on." I tell Kotori out loud.

"Okay." She says as the two of us head further in.

-Zexal-

Eventually we come to a large open room with a glass ceiling showing a view of the sky and a balcony up above.

"What is this place?" Kotori questions as she takes a few steps into the room.

My instincts are screaming at me that something is wrong, I look around trying to figure out what's wrong.

Kotori takes another Step forward when my instincts scream out in full alarm.

"Kotori!" I yell out when I realize they were screaming at me for her to stop.

"What?" Kotori asks as she finishes her step and a click is heard, a Ring of Fire erupts from the ground and entraps Kotori inside it. "VEN HELP!" Kotori yells out.

"KOTORI!" I yell out in worry, reaching my hand out to try and help her but have to pull back due to how hot the flames are.

"Heh,Heh,Heh well, well, well look at the little baby who fell into my trap." A taunting voice says from an entrance across the room.

"Who's There?!" I yell out.

"Welcome, to my doll house." A young adult women with long blond hair wearing a corset says as she steps into the room. "Oh It seems someone escaped the cage." She says in a mocking voice.

"Who Are You?" I ask the lady.

"You may call me Princess Cologne." Princess Cologne says in a tone of high importance.

"Well, "Hime"!" I say in a mocking tone, "Let Kotori GO!" I order her.

Princess Cologne puts a hand on her chin in a mock thinking pose. "Now why would I go and do that?" She mock questions.

"You don't want me as an enemy" I warn her.

"Oh, is the baby trying to play hero?" Princess Cologne mocks, "But…" she says in a mocking tone.

"But?" I question.

Princess Cologne pulls out a small orb, "Duel me, and I'll let the girl go, but if I win I get your Numbers."

"So you're after the Numbers as well huh?" I question before grabbing my duel disk. "I Accept!" I say activating my Duel Disk I could care less about the Numbers in this duel, I had to save Kotori.

"Duel Disk – Set!" I yell out sliding my Duel Disk onto my arm, as Princess Cologne pops open the ball in front of her.

"D-Gazer-Set!" I yell out placing the D-Gazer over my right eye.

**"****AR VISION - Link Established**" A computerized voice states out as Princess Cologne's, Kotori's and My D-Gazers connect.

"DUEL!" Princess Cologne and I yell out. (**Princess Cologne: 4000**) (**Ventus: 4000**)

"Wait for me Kotori." I tell her.

Kotori nods as she sweats a bit due to the heat from the fire ring.

"Here I come." Princess Cologne announces, "My Turn, Draw!" She yells out as she draws her card.

"I Summon Box of Friends!" Princess Cologne says as a present box appears on her side of the field. (**Box of Friends, Level 1, 0 Atk**)

"Zero Attack?" I mentally question.

"Then I activate the Spell Card Mix Up" Princess Cologne says placing the Spell card into her duel disk, "This Card destroys one monster on my field." She says as the box blows up.

"What?" I question in slight shock as to why she destroyed her own monster.

"When Toy Box has been destroyed on my Field, I summon four Normal Monsters from my deck in defense mode!" Princess Cologne says as four cards pop out of her deck and she places them onto her duel disk. "Come Out, Doll Monster Bear-Bear, Doll Monster Mr. Dragon, Doll Monster Miss Madchen, Doll Monster Rob Robot!" she yells out placing each monster onto her duel disk. (**Doll Monster Bear-Bear, Level 4, 0 Defense**) (**Doll Monster Mr. Dragon, Level 4, 0 Defense**) (**Doll Monster Miss Madchen, Level 4, 0 Defense**) (**Doll Monster Rob Robot, Level 4, 0 Defense**)

"Four Monsters at once?!" I comment in surprise.

"Unfortunately monsters summoned with Toy Box, can't be used in an XYZ Summon" Princess Cologne explains, "So I'll end my turn here."

"What is her strategy?" I mentally question, "Whatever I need to free Kotori I can't worry about that." I mutter softly grabbing my deck, "My Turn, DRAW!" I yell out drawing my card.

"G-Go for it Ven." Kotori cheers with a slight cough.

"I Summon Wind-Up Soldier!" I announce calling out my Toy Soldier (**Wind-Up Soldier, Level 4, 1800 Atk**) "Next when I summon a Wind-Up monster, by revealing Wind-Up Shark." I announce revealing said card, "I can summon it to the field, Surface Wind-Up Shark." I say as the toy shark appears in a torrent of water. (**Wind-Up Shark, Level 4, 1500 Atk**) "Next I Overlay my Level 4 Wind-Up Soldier and Shark!" I declare as the two monsters enter the overlay network, "With These two Monsters I Construct the Overlay Network" I chant out, "XYZ Summon, Eradicate Rank 4, Evilswarm Exciton Knight!" I yell out as the bug looking knight appears out of the network. (**Evilswarm Exciton Knight, Rank 4, 1900 Atk**)

"This is a new one." Kotori comments before coughing slightly

"I Activate Exciton's effect I yell out with a wave of my hand as an Overlay Unit is absorbed into its sword. "By Detaching an Overlay Unit during my Main Phase, if you control more cards then I do all cards except Exciton are destroyed." I explain as Exciton swings its sword into the air. "Istinction!" I yell out as all of Princess Cologne's dolls are destroyed.

"Yay you did it Ven!" Kotori cheers out.

"Since I can't deal damage the turn I use this effect I set two cards and end my turn!" I say as the cards appear face down.

"How DARE you hurt my dolls!" Princess Cologne growls out. "My Turn!" She yells out drawing her card. "I activate the effect of the Special Field Doll House" she announces.

"WHAT?!" I yell out in shock, "A special field?"

"Doll House lets me summon normal doll monsters from my deck" Princess Cologne explains, "but it's one less than the number of doll monster's I had last turn and they are two levels higher." She explains, "Come out and play Dolls." She calls out as the Monsters appear on the field. (**Doll Monster Miss Madchen, Customized, Level 6, 1000 Attack**) (**Doll Monster Rob Robot Customized, Level 6, 1000 Atk**) (**Doll Monster Bear-Bear Customized, Level 6, 1000 Atk**)

"Those are some weird dolls." I comment offhandedly

"They've got some parts from the missing monsters stuck to them." Kotori comments wavering slightly.

"Three Level 6 Monsters, is she gonna do it?" I question.

Princess Cologne smirks, "This is your penance for destroying my monsters, "Go my Dolls!" She orders as the dolls to attack me.

"What?" I yell out in shock, "Why would she hurt herself?" I question to myself, "Take it Exciton Knight!" I order my monster.

Exciton Knight slashes the doll into pieces destroying it. Princess Cologne smirks evilly as her life falls. (**Princess Cologne: 4000 – 3100**)

A crackle of electricity is heard before Kotori screams in agony as electricity runs through her body.

"KOTORI!" I yell out in fear as she falls to her knees in pain.

"I-It hurts." Kotori stammers out.

"You Bitch!" I yell out in anger.

"Whoopsie, guess I forgot to mention that." Princess Cologne says in a mocking tone, "If I take Damage your little girl suffers the price.

I growl and clench my fist in anger.

"You Coward, how can Ven win if he can't attack?!" Kotori weakly yells out.

"That's just it doll, he's not supposed to." Princess Cologne taunts back before pointing at my monster again, "Now Suffer more penance." She yells out at her two dolls attack Exciton Knight and it goes to attack them.

"NO STOP!" I yell out in protest as my Monster destroys the Doll Monsters.

Princess Cologne smirks maliciously even more as her life falls. (**Princess Cologne: 3100 – 2200 – 1300)**

Kotori screams as the electricity surges through her body.

"STOP IT!" I yell out in agony, it was agonizing to see Kotori being hurt.

"I set one card face down and end my turn." Princess Cologne says setting her card face down.

"My turn, Draw." I say weakly as I draw my card.

"And right now, I activate Doll House's effect!" Princess Cologne announces throwing her hand into the air, "From my Deck, I Special Summon two Normal Level 8 Monsters!" she declares as two doll monsters appear on the field. (**Bear-Bear, Re-Customized, Level 8, 2000 ATk**) (**Miss Madchen, Re-Customized, Level 8, 2000 Atk**)

"I can't leave those monsters on the field." I mutter to myself, "But…" I say looking at Kotori who is weakly sitting on the ground, "If I attack it could be fatal, what should I do?" I ask myself. "I activate Xyz Shift!" I say placing the card into the Spell and Trap card zone, "I return Exciton Knight to the Extra Deck and summon Dark Rebellon Xyz Dragon!" I yell out at my Dragon appears from the Network. "And then Xyz Shift becomes an Overlay Unit for Dark Rebellion." (**Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Rank 4, 2500 Atk**)

"You fell for it." Princess Cologne says with a smirk

"What?" I hiss out.

"I Activate a Trap, Quick XYZ!" Princess Cologne says as her set card flips open, "I Overlay the Level 8 Bear-Bear and Miss Madchen, both Re-Costomized and Level 8"

"What, Xyz Summoning during the opponent's turn?" I question in shock.

"With these two monsters I construct the Overlay Network." Princess Cologne chants out as they enter the Overlay Network, "Xyz Summon, Come Save me Fankie!" she calls out at the monster appears on the field. (**Number 22: Zombiestein, Rank 8, 4500 Atk**)

"4500 ATK?!" I yell out in shock. "This is bad." I hiss out

"Trap Card Open." I yell out as my set card flips open, "**Mark of Rebellion**, "If I control a Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon I can equip this card to a Rank 5 or higher Xyz Monster my opponent Controls the monster equipped with this card is treated as having a Level." I explain. "I Activate Dark Rebellion's Monster Effect!" I announce as the Dragon swallows an Overlay Unit, "By detaching an Overlay Unit until the end of the Turn one Level 5 or higher monster has its attack cut in half and Dark Rebellion gains attack equal to the amount lost." I explain as purple lightning begins to surround Zombestien.

"Your silly effect won't work." Princess Cologne informs.

"Nani?" I question.

"By discarding one card from my hand and using one Overlay Unit, Frankie can negate any Monster effect, Spell or Trap card on your field." Princess Cologne explains. "And when he's used his effect on a monster, that monster has to battle him." She explains.

"WHAT?!" I yell out in shock.

"Beat him like a rug, Frankie!" Princess Cologne tells her monster, Zombie-Fist!"

"Dark Rebellion!" I yell out as my Dragon is punched by Zombiestein and destroyed. (**Ventus: 4000 – 2000)**

"V-Ven." Kotori weakly yells out in worry.

"D-don't worry about me, I'll get you out soon, I promise." I tell Kotori.

Kotori nods at me, complete faith in her eyes.

"I Summon Wind-Up Rat!" I announce as the toy rat appears on the field. (**Wind-Up Rat, Level 3, 600 Atk**) "I Activate Wind-Up Rat's effect!" I yell out as I wave my hand, "Once while it is face-up on the field, by turning it into defense position I can summon a Wind-Up from my graveyard." I say as I turn Rat into defense position.

"Please don't negate it." Kotori says with her hands clasped together.

"Heh." Princess Cologne says with a taunting smirk," I can only use Frankie's effect once per turn, how lucky for you." She taunts out. "But with his ATK, Frankie will go right through any defense monster." She comments.

"Thank goodness" Kotori comments weakly.

"Damn it, I can't attack without hurting Kotori" I curse internally. "I revive Wind-Up Shark!" I say as the toy shark emerges from the Graveyard Portal. "I activate Wind-Up Shark's effect, Once Per Turn I can raise or lower its level by 1." I explain as Shark shrinks a bit, "I lower it down to Level 3."

"Ooh, Two Level three monsters, is the baby gonna bring out the big guns." Princess Cologne taunts out.

"I Overlay my Level 3 Wind-Up Rat and Shark!" I yell out as the two toys enter the Overlay Network, "With these two monster's I construct the Overlay Network." I chant out as the Overlay Network in built. "Xyz Summon, Advance Rank 3, Wind-Up Zenmaines!" I call out as the Xyz appears on the field. (**Wind-Up Zenmaines, Rank 3, 2100 Def**) "Turn End." I say as I pass my turn.

"My turn, Draw!" Princess Cologne yells out as she draws her card, "Go Frankie destroy that cheap toy." She orders her Number, "Zombie-Smash!" she yells out as Zombiestein punches Zenmaines.

"Zenmaines' effect by detaching an Overlay Unit I save it from destruction, and since it's a continuous effect being applied you can't negate it." I tell Princess Cologne.

"Well Well, the baby can fight." Princess Cologne taunts out, "I activate the Spell Card Curse of Dolls!" she says holding up a Spell Card. "I can activate Curse of Dolls when I have five or more Doll monsters in my Graveyard." She explains, "It destroys one Face-Up Monster in Defense mode." She says as a beam hits Zenmaines.

"I detach the last Overlay Unit to save Zenmaines." I say placing the Overlay Unit into the Graveyard.

"I set one card face down and end my turn." Princess Cologne says as the card materializes face down.

"At this Moment Zenmaine's monster effect activates!" I yell out with a wave of my hand, "When it detaches an Overlay Unit during the End Phase I can destroy one monster on the field. "Die you abomination!" I point at Zombiestein

"I Activate Frankie's effect!" Princess Cologne says with a smirk, "By detaching an Overlay Unit and discarding a card I negate that effect." She says as Zenmaines' bomb is stopped short.

"Tch" I growl out. "My Turn, Draw!" I yell out drawing my card. "I set a Monster face down, and set a card." I say as the cards materialize face down. "Turn End."

"My turn, Draw!" Princess Cologne says as she draws her card, she looks at it with a smirk, "I summon a new monster, Zombie Dog!" she says at a dog appears on the field. (**Zombie Dog, Level 2, 1000 Atk**) "Battle!" she yells out, "Go Frankie attack that nuisance. She orders her Number." I growl out as Zenmaines is destroyed.

"Sorry Zenmaines." I apologize to my Monster.

"Trap card open!" Princess Cologne yells out as her set card flips open, "Xyz Bento, When an Xyz Monster destroys a monster with 2000 or more Defense this card lets it use that Monster as an Overlay Unit." She explains.

"What?!" I yell out as Zenmaines is turned into an Overlay Unit on Zombiestein.

"Oh no, now it can use its effect." I mutter.

Princess Cologne smirks, and now it's time for that little girl to pay the penance again, "Go Dog Zombie attack his set monster." She orders as her undead dog attacks my set card. "When he attacks he gains 500 Atk" (**Zombie Dog, 1000 Atk – 1500 Atk**)

"NO DON'T" I yell out as my set monster flips over. (**PeroPero Cerperus, Level 3, 1800 Def**)

Zombie hits PeroPero before PeroPero knocks the dog back dealing damage to Princess Cologne.

Princess Cologne smirks as her life drops. (**Princess Cologne: 1300 – 1000**)

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH" Kotori screams out as the electricity courses through her body.

"STOP IIIITTTT!" I yell out tears forming in my eyes.

"Suffer." Princess Cologne says with a crazed grin. "Turn End." She says as she ends her turn.

"My Turn, Draw!" I yell out drawing my card. "I set a card and end my turn." I say passing my turn.

"Heh Heh Heh, as long as that girl, all you can do is move to my will." Princess Cologne taunts out. "My turn, Draw!" she yells out as she draws. "Go Frankie Destroy that dog." She orders as Zombiestein destroys PeroPero.

"Sorry." I say as my monster is destroyed.

"Go Zombie Dog, Attack Directly." Princess Cologne orders and her monster plows into me, "He gains 500 Atk when he attack. (**1000 Atk – 1500 Atk**)

"Gahh" I hiss out as my life drops (**Ventus: 2000 – 500**) "I activate PeroPero Cerberus' effect" I yell out with a wave of my hand, "If this card is in my Graveyard and I take battle damage, I can banish it to destroy that Monster." I say as the Grave Portal opens up and PeroPero fires an energy beam at Zombie Dog Destroying it.

"Tch." Princess Cologne growl out at her undead dog is destroyed.

"G-Go for it Ven" Kotori says weakly giving me a thumbs up.

"Kotori." I say in worry.

"I'll be fine." Kotori assures me weakly.

"But for how long?" Princess Cologne mock questions.

"Why?" I ask shaking a clenched fist.

"Why what?" Princess Cologne questions in mock confusion.

"Why are you doing something so cruel?" I question.

"Fun." Princess Cologne says with a smirk.

"How cruel." Kotori mutters weakly her breathing a bit uneven.

"My Turn, Draw!" I yell out drawing a card. "I Summon Wind-Up Knight!" I yell out as I summon my Toy-Knight!" I announce as the toy knight is called to the field. (**Wind-Up Knight, Level 4, 1800 Atk**) "I activate my set card, Zenmailfunction." I declare as my Set card flips open. "I revive Wind-Up Shark from my Graveyard." I announce as my toy shark appears out of the Graveyard Portal "Its effects are negated." I explain. "I Overlay my Level 4 Wind-Up Shark and Knight" I yell out as my two monsters enter into the Overlay Network. "With these two Monsters I construct the Overlay Network." I chant out, "Xyz Summon, Cheer Rank 4 Fairy Cheer Girl." I call out as the monster appears on the field.

Fairy Cheer Girl gives off a short cheer before seeing Kotori and going over to check on her before flying over to my side and giving Princess Cologne an Evil Glare.

"What's that little twerp gonna do?" Princess Cologne taunts out.

"Let me beat you." I retort, "I activate Fairy Cheer Girl's effect, by detaching an Overlay Unit I draw a card!" I say as the Overlay Unit is absorbed into Fairy Cheer Girl's pom poms and she gives a small cheer as I draw, I take a look for a second, "I set a card and end my turn" I say passing turn.

"It's over" Princess Cologne says drawing her card. "Go Frankie Attack that cheerleader." She orders her monster as it goes to attack Fairy Cheer Girl.

"No Ven!" Kotori weakly yells out.

Zombiestein stops moving. "What?" I question aloud.

"What's going on?" Kotori questions.

"Something's not right" I mentally comment clicking a button on my D-Gazer to take a look at the Number's card effect. "This Card Cannot Attack Female Monsters?!" I yell out in shock at the effect I read.

"Grr I forgot about Frankie's weak point" Princess Cologne growl out, "But no matter, I activate the Quick-Play Spell **Curse of the Fiend**" she says pushing the card into the duel disk. "By detaching an Overlay Unit from Frankie your cheerleader is destroyed!" she says as Zombiestein's last Overlay Unit is absorbed into the card and fires a beam at Fairy Cheer Girl.

Fairy Cheer Girl gives off a scream as she is destroyed.

"And now that the pest is gone, Frankie Attack him directly!" Princess Cologne orders the Number.

"V-Ven!" Kotori weakly yells in worry.

"Trap activate Xyz Reborn!" I yell out as my set card flips open, "I bring back an Xyz Monster from my Graveyard." I explain as the Graveyard Portal opens up and a monster raises out of it. "Come Back Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon." I say as my ace Dragon appears back from the Graveyard. "Then Xyz Reborn becomes an Overlay Unit." I say as the Trap Card turns into an Overlay Unit and begins orbiting Dark Rebellion.

"It doesn't matter, Finish him off!" Princess Cologne commands as her Number attacks again.

"Quick Play Magic, **ZeroForce!**" I yell out as my set card flips open, "This card makes all battle damage from a Battle Zero." I say as Dark Rebellion is destroyed.

"Tch, annoyance" Princess Cologne growls out.

"Reverse Card Open I yell out activating my last set card, "Xyz Double Back!" I summon an Xyz Monster that was Destroyed by Battle this turn and summon it back and a Monster from my Graveyard, and they are both destroyed at my next End Phase" I explain as the Graveyard Portal opens up. "Come back Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and Fairy Cheer Girl!" I call out as the two monsters reappear out of the Graveyard.

"Your persistence is annoying but futile, you have no cards in your hand. And no set cards and two weak Xyz Monsters that will die next turn." Princess Cologne points out.

"She's right" I mentally comment placing my hand on my deck "If I don't draw the right card, I lose" I close my eyes and grip the card. "Everyone, give me strength" I mentally ask and I pull the card from the deck. "DRAW!" I yell out, I turn the card over and my eyes widen. "Dragonforce!" I mentally yell out.

"N-No" I mutter out weakly falling to my knees, I had drawn the worst card for the situation, "It's over" I mutter in defeat my hands on the ground. "Maybe if I just give up Kotori will be safe." I mutter under my breath.

"What's wrong baby face did you not get what you want?" Princess Cologne taunts out. "Hmm I might spare your girl if you surrender." She says teasingly.

I weakly move my hand to my Duel Disk prepared to surrender, my hand almost touching the device.

"DON'T DO IT!" a voice weakly yells out. I stop short and turn to see Kotori glaring at me.

"This isn't the Ventus I fell in love with." Kotori yells at me, "He isn't one who would be so down in despair, he would find a way to win." She yells out.

"But." I yell out in protest because I didn't want to hurt her.

"I'll be fine." She says with a smile, "I have faith in you."

"Thanks Kotori" I say with a smile as I stand up, "I know what I have to do."

"Win." Kotori says giving me a weak smile before collapsing again.

I walk up to the cage of fire.

"What are you doing Ven?" Kotori Questions.

I don't answer her and shove my arm through the cage of fire. I scream in pain as the flames sear my skin.

"VEN!" Kotori yells out in shock as she tries to push my hand out.

I stick my other hand in and grab Kotori's hand with both of mine, I yell out as the Fire and Electricity attack Kotori and I.

'Don't Ven" Kotori weakly protests.

I grip Kotori tighter. "I'M GONNA BRING IT TO EM!" I yell out as I give Kotori a hard tug and pull her out of the cage of fire and cause us to fall back.

"A-Are you alright Koto?" I question her looking her over.

Kotori weakly nods.

"Tchh, so you freed her, big deal you don't have any hope left, Your Nothing!" Princess Cologne yells out.

"You don't understand!" I snap back at Princess Cologne. "As long as Kotori is by my side my potential is unlimited!" I yell out.

"Potential?" Princess Cologne mocks, "Don't make me laugh."

"Let's go Kotori!" I say Holding out my Hand to her.

"Yeah!" Kotori says with a weak smile before taking my hand, when they connect a bright light emerges from them, suddenly the Regnant's Symbol around my neck lets out a blinding flash of light that makes me have to shield my eyes.

"What?" Princess Cologne yells out.

An alert appears on my Duel Disk alerting me there was a new card in the extra deck.

"What is this?" I question as I hit the button to check what it was, when I saw its effect I smiled, "Let's do it Kotori."

"Let's Go Ven!" Kotori yells out.

Kotori and I grab Fairy Cheer Girl and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon respectively from the Duel Disk and hold them up.

"With the Rank 4 Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and Fairy Cheer Girl we build a new Overlay Network!" Kotori and I chant out together as the two Xyz's fly up and enter the Overlay Network.

"What?!" Princess Cologne questions in shock, "An Xyz Summon using Xyz Monsters?!"

"With these two Xyz Monsters we construct a new Overlay Network!" Kotori and I continue to chant, out "Light of the Skies, Darkness in the soul, when these two powers intersect the true power of X (pronounced "Kye") shall raise. Xyz Summon, A New Generation, Rank 0, Numbers NΔ: Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon!" (Read as Neo Numbers Delta) Kotori and I call out as from the Overlay Network in the sky a dragon that had Dark Rebellion's body with Fairy Cheer Girl's butterfly wings and an extra pair of arms that held two yellow orbs in them. (**Number N**Δ**: Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon, Rank 0, 2500 Atk**)

On my right hand was the left half of the triangle of the delta mark, and on Kotori's left hand was the right half.

"Im-Impossible!" Princess Cologne protests since things aren't going her way.

"At this moment we activate Fairy Cheer Dragoon's Effect!" Kotori and I announce, "By Detaching an Xyz Material we draw a card and reveal it!" we explain as an Overlay Unit is absorbed into Fairy Cheer Dragoon's chest and it waves the orbs in its hands a bit. "Draw!" Kotori and I yell out as I draw the card from my deck and hold it up. "Artifact Moralltach a Monster with 2100 Atk!" I say holding up the card.

"Since a Monster Card was drawn from this effect one of your Monster's loses Attack equal to the Monster drawn and Fairy Cheer Dragoon gain's that amount!" Kotori explains as Fairy Cheer Dragoon waves its arms hypnoticly. "Demon's Curse!"

"What?!" Princess Cologne yells out as Zombiestien shrinks in size, "No Frankie!" (**Zombiestein: 4500 Atk – 2400 Atk**) (**Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon: 2500 Atk – 4600 Atk**)

"We Detach the last Overlay Unit to draw again!" Kotori and I announce as we grip the top card of me deck."

"Let's do it Kotori!" I tell her.

"Yeah!" Kotori says nodding in agreement.

"DRAW!" We yell out pulling the card off the deck and holding it up, "Volcanic Queen, your monster loses 2500 Atk!" Kotori and I say as Fairy Cheer Dragoon does its hypnotic dance again as Zombiestein's Attack falls to Zero. (**Zombiestein 2400 Atk – 0 Atk) (Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon: 4600 Atk – 7100 Atk)**

"NO, it's not supposed to be like this!" Princess Cologne whines stomping her feet.

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell **Dragonforce**!" I announce as I slam the Spell into the Duel Disk, "This card takes one Dragon monster Summoned this turn and doubles It's Attack Strength!" I explain as Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon grows in size. (**Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon: 7100 ATk – 14,200 Atk**"

"14,200 Attack!" Princess Cologne ells out in shock.

"Go Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon." I order the new Monster.

"Attack Zombiestein!" Kotori finishes.

"Revolution of the Heavens!" Kotori and I yell out and Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon lets out a massive blast of energy from its mouth and it heads towards Zombiestein and swallows him whole.

"Im-Impossoible, Impossible!" Princess Cologne yells out as the energy beam heads towards her, "AAAAAAAAUUUUUHHHHHH!" She yells out as her body is enveloped by the attack. (**Princess Cologne LP: 1000 – 0**) (**Ventus: Win**)

When the Attack clears all that's left of Princess Cologne is her Number, I hold out my hand and Call it into my hand. "No Second Chances!" I mutter darkly, "I'm that sort of a man."

"V-Ven." Kotori says weakly as she falls to the ground losing the boost from when we called out Fairy Cheer Dragoon.

I catch her before she can hit the ground. "It's over." I tell her before a small explosion hits and fire spreads through the room. "Crap!" I yell out as I realize the attack from Fairy Cheer Dragoon has caused a fire. "We need to get out of here." I say as I pick Kotori up bridal style and hop up onto Fairy Cheer Dragoon's back, "Let's Go!" I order

The Dragon roars before taking off it tucks and swerves as it avoids the falling debris.

"GOOO!" I yell out as the Dragon gives a roar before crashing through a window taking us outside.

"We made it." I cheer before my concentration wavers and Fairy Cheer Dragoon vanishes.

"Ahhh" I yell out as Kotori and I fall to the ground and roll a distance from the mansion.

Kotori and I sit up breathing heavily and look at each other.

"Are you alright Koto?" I ask her in concern.

"I'm fine." Kotori says with a small smile.

We continue to lock eyes for a bit before looking at the burning mansion and back at each other, we burst out laughing as our way of coping.

"That was destructive." Kotori Laughs

"Yeah!" I say with a grin.

My heart was hammering inside my chest, adrenaline coursing through my body, as I looked at Kotori my mind vaguely wondered what her lips tasted like, and then suddenly acting on an impulse. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers.

-Zexal-

and that's a wrap for the date arc, hope you all enjoyed it, I had based Cologne's personality off of Larxene from Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories

Oc Cards:

Mark of Rebellion, Trap Card - Normal: Activate only if you Control a Face-Up "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon"; Target 1 Face-Up Rank 5 or Higher Xyz Monster your opponent controls and equip this card to that Target. That Card is treated as Having a Level. As long as this card is face up on the field, only Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon may declare an attack.

Curse of the Fiend, Quick-Play Spell: Detach an Xyz Material from a Face-Up Xyz Monster you control, Destroy one Face-Up Xyz Monster your opponent controls. Only Xyz Monster's can be attack the turn you activate this effect.

Zeroforce, Quick-Play Spell: Activate when a face-up monster you control is targeted for an attack, the battle damage from that battle becomes 0.

Dragonforce, Quick-Play Spell: At the start of the battle phase, Target 1 face-up Dragon type monster you control that was summoned this turn, Double its attack power. At the End Phase the monster affected by this card has it's attack reduced to 0 and is banished.

Number NΔ: Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon  
Rank: 0  
Attribute: Dark  
Type: Dragon  
Attack: 2500  
Defense: 2000

Effect:  
2 Rank 4 Xyz Monsters  
(This card's original Rank is always treated as 1)  
(This card is always treated as a Light attribute mosnster)  
(This card is always treated as a fairy type monster)  
This card cannot be special summoned except by overlaying two monsters who's original names are Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and Fairy Cheer Girl and cannot be Summoned in other ways.  
This Card is unaffected by the effects of Level5/Rank5 of higher monsters your opponent controls.  
During your main phase you can detach an overlay unit: Draw a card and reveal it, if the revealed card is a monster target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls, that monster loses attack equal to the atk of the drawn monster and then This card gains attack equal to the ammount that monster lost.  
During the end phase of the turn you activated this effect, take a number of cards from your hand equal to the ammount of cards you drew and place them on the bottom of the deck (If the Number of cards in hand is less then the amount you drew, place entire hand on bottom of deck) This is applied even if this card leaves the field


	17. Chapter 16-5: Ventori

**AN: This Chapter is purely just fluff between Kotori and Ventus and won't affect the the overall plot of the story very much, except for a bit at the end. If you don't like that kind of stuff you can just skip this chapter. For those of you who stay and read I hope you enjoy my first attempt at writing out a fluff chapter.**

**Chapter 16.5: Ventori**

_My heart was hammering inside my chest, adrenaline coursing through my body, as I looked at Kotori my mind vaguely wondered what her lips tasted like, and then suddenly acting on an impulse. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers._

-Zexal-

After a few seconds I broke the kiss, my face feeling very hot. "S-Sorry." I apologize. "Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!" I mentally chastise myself, "Now she's gonna hate you."

"It-It's fine." Kotori stammers with a blush but a smile on her face as she runs her fingers over her lips.

I felt awkward, I did have feelings for Kotori and I wanted to maybe go a step further in our relationship, but I was afraid that I might ruin our friendship. "But she did say she fell in love with you." My logical side points out. I clenched my fists gathering up my courage and turned to face Kotori, "Kotori." I say aloud to her.

"Y-Yeah Ven?" Kotori stammers slightly with a blush on her face.

I tap my fingers together feeling a bit awkward on how to go about this, do I tell her how I feel or ask her. I took a calming breath and deciding to just outright tell her. "Kotori, I like you." I tell her as I look her in the eyes.

"I like you too Ven." Kotori says with a soft smile.

"No." I say shaking my head, "I mean I Like-Like you." I stammer out averting my gaze a bit, "I'm saying that I Lo….Lo…." Damn it it's too hard, "Come on Ven, you can do this." I mentally tell myself. I take a swallow and clench my fists and blurt it out. "I Love You!"

Kotori's face turns bright red, "R-really?" she stammers out in disbelief.

"Yeah." I say with a nod, finding it much easier to talk about this now that the first hurdle was overcome.

"How long?" Kotori questions not able to fully meet my eyes.

I smile softly at the memory, "Ever since I first saw you." I tell her with a smile before tapping my temple with a finger, "You were the first thing these memories saw." I remind her.

Kotori smiles softly at the memory "Yeah, I remember well." She says in nostalgia.

"What about you?" I question her.

"Huh?" Kotori questions looking at me.

"You said "This isn't the Ven I fell in love with" back during the duel." I remind her. "Did you mean it?" I ask her feeling hope swell in my chest.

Kotori looks around for a moment, "Yeah." She says so softly I almost missed it.

"Huh?" I say in a teasing voice trying to get her to say it louder.

"Yes I Love you!" Kotori yells out annoyed before gasping and blushing at what she did.

"How long?" I question her.

Kotori look at the ground and smiles softly, "I started to fall for you when you saved me that day." She tells me.

I smiled as the memory of that day flashed through my mind "I think that day is when my feelings went a bit deeper than a crush I tell her."

Kotori smiles a bit, "So what now?" She questions.

"What do you mean?" I question her.

"I mean about US." Kotori explains, "Do we go a step further in our relationship, or stay friends?"

"I'd like to go a step further." I tell her rubbing the back of my head in awkwardness.

Kotori smiles softly ay me, "I'd like that too." She tells me.

"In that case…" I say with a smile as I hold my hand out to Kotori, "Kotori Mizuki would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend." I ask her.

Kotori takes my hand and smiles, "I'd love to Ventus." She says as she wraps her arms around my waist in a hug, I return the hug and lean in to kiss her again, the fireworks the exploded in my head were pure bliss, I felt Kotori's tongue lick the bottom of my lip, I opened slightly to give her access our tongues fighting for dominance, the taste of her cherry lips were pure bliss.

The kiss lasted for about five minutes before Kotori had to break it to catch her breath. "T-That was amazing." Kotori says with a shortness of breath.

I smiled, "I agree" I tell my new girlfriend as I take her hand.

"So what now?" Kotori asks as she looks around a bit.

I walk over to the D-Wheel that was parked a couple feet away and picked up Kotori's helmet and tossed it to her.

Kotori catches it with ease, "What are you doing?" she questions.

"Driving us back toward the tower, from there we should be able to find out where the house is." I say putting on the helmet and getting onto the D-Wheel.

"Okay, but why are you taking the D-Wheel?" Kotori questions as she puts on the helmet and climbs on behind me.

"I'm gonna keep it." I tell her as I take off the kickstand and start up the engine.

"Do you think Akari will let you keep it?" Kotori questions as she wraps her arms around my waist to hold on.

"Who knows?" I say with a shrug as I rev the engine a bit, "But I'm gonna keep it, no matter what she says." I tell her as I accelerate and take off towards the city, Kotori leaning her head into my back.

-Zexal—

After a quick 15 minute drive we reached Heartland Tower and it was only a few minutes away from the house. "Here we are." I say to Kotori as I park in front of the Tsukumo house and get off the bike and take off my helmet.

Kotori takes off her helmet and hands it to me, I place it on the D-wheel until I could make a storage for it. "I had a great time." Kotori says with a smile.

"Me too." I say as I take her hand in mine, "Plus I got a beautiful girlfriend out of it." I say with a smile.

"You tease." Kotori says with a smile as she pecks my cheek.

I blush a bit at the feeling. "Come on lets go inside." I tell Kotori as I lead her up to the door.

"We're Back!" I yell out as I open the door and walk inside only to be greeting with darkness and silence. "Akari, Haru?" I call out as I turn on the lights.

"Are they out?" Kotori questions.

I shrug, "Most likely answer, well make yourself at home." I tell Kotori as I kick off my shoes, Kotori doing the same.

I walk into the kitchen and see a note on the table, "Ventus, Akari and I have gone up to the Duel Lodge to check up on Yuma and will be back later tonight, help yourself to any food you want. Haru" I scimmed over the note, "Yup there out." I tell Kotori.

"So that means you and I are alone right now a boy and a girl." Kotori says with a blush

I feel my face go red at the implications, "L-Let's not get too hasty" I stammer out before clearing my through. "Why don't you go take a shower to clean up after all we went through today and I'll make a soup for us while I wash your clothes." I tell her.

Kotori looks over at all the scuffs on her body, "Okay." She says with a nod, "But what will I wear?"

I blush a bit. "You can wear something of mine until I finish cleaning your cloths."

"Okay." Kotori says softly a hint of red on her face.

-Zexal—

While Kotori was in the shower I had thrown her dress into the wash and went to make a simple soup.

"Ahh that was refreshing" Kotori says with a smile as she walks in drying off her hair, I feel my face heat up and my blood rush south at the sight of Kotori wearing only my School Uniform shirt. "Bad Ven Bad!" I mentally scold myself and bite my thumb to snap myself out of it.

"Smells good." Kotori says as she hugs me from behinds, the feeling of her chest pushing against my back not helping matters.

"Should be almost done" I tell her trying to keep cool.

"Can't wait." Kotori says with a grin as she kisses my cheek and goes to sit down on the couch.

I let out a silent sigh and focused on the soup to try and clear my head, after a few minutes I gave the soup a test and found it to be ready. "Done." I say as I served two bowls and brought one over to Kotori.

"Thanks Ven" Kotori says as she takes the bowl.

"Your welcome." I tell Kotori sitting down across from her.

"Thanks for the meal." Kotori and I say as we clasp our hands together in thanks before we dig in.

Kotori squeals as she takes a bite, "This is divine Ven, where did you learn to cook so well?" she questions.

I take a small sip of the soup, "Cooking always came naturally to me, like a hobby." I tell her.

"You should cook more often." Kotori says as she swallows another bite.

"Thanks" I say blushing at the praise.

Kotori gives me a smile as we silently enjoy the soup.

-Zexal-

"Do you wanna watch a movie or something?" I ask Kotori as I clean up our dishes.

"Let me just call my mom and see if she wants me home." Kotori says as she goes over and picks up her D-Gazer.

"Okay, and I'll go see how the wash of your dress is going." I say as I finish cleaning up the dishes.

"Okay." Kotori says as she activates the phone and calls her mom while I go and take Kotori's dress and hang it up for drying.

"M-Mom!" I hear Kotori yell in embarrassment when I walk back in.

"What's going on?" I question walking up behind Kotori.

"So I hear you two are dating now?" Mrs. Mizuki asks over the D-Gazer.

"You told her?" I ask Kotori

Kotori nods silently.

I pull her into an embrace. "Yes, were dating." I tell Mrs. Mizuki bluntly

Mrs. Mizuki gives a chuckle at her daughter's blush, "Well Ven is a good Kid." She tells Kotori before shifting her gaze to me, "Take care of her, she's my only daughter." I momentarily flash back to the duel with Cologne and how I killed her for harming Kotori. "I will" I tell Mrs. Mizuki.

Mrs. Mizuki nods at me before turning back to Kotori, "I'll let you stay overnight with your boyfriend, don't do anything I wouldn't do" she says in a teasing voice.

"MOM!" Kotori yells out her face turning red.

Mrs. Mizuki chuckles before telling her daughter good night and hanging up.

"Your mom in an interesting one." I say with a smile.

"Yeah." Kotori says with a smile, "So what now?" she asks setting her D-Gazer on the table.

I give a shrug, "We could watch a movie, or we could work on your deck you got today and teach you to duel, or we could go visit Yuma at the lodge." I say giving some options.

"Hmm" Kotori hums in thought, "Let's work on my deck I wanna be strong enough to help you out." she says with a fiery passion.

I chuckle at that, "Ok" I tell Kotori "I'll grab your dress, it should be done drying."

"Thanks for cleaning it Ven." Kotori says with a grateful smile.

"No problem, was happy to help." I tell Kotori, "I'll go grab it, and you can go up to my room and start looking through my cards." I tell her.

Kotori nods and goes up to my room while I grab her dress and bring it up to her.

"Here you go Kotori." I tell her

"Thanks Ven." Kotori says with a smile as she takes off my shirt right in front of me, causing my nose to squirt blood as she puts her dress back on.

"You ok Ven?" Kotori asks as she straightens her dress a bit.

I just nod mutely before wiping my nose, "Wasn't expecting that." I tell Kotori.

I sit down next to Kotori and help her fine tune her deck and start to have some duels with her.

-Zexal-

"I think I'm getting the hang of it." Kotori says with a smile as another duel winds to a close.

I smile at Kotori, "I think so too, you're a fast learner" I tell her.

"You're a great teacher." Kotori says with a smile

I blush a bit at Kotori's compliment before reaching into my deck case and pulling out a card and handing it to her, "Here this is for you."

Kotori takes it and Gasps, "NUMBERS?!"

I smile reassuringly, "I have complete faith you can master it." I say putting hand on Kotori's shoulder.

Kotori nods, "I do want to help and if you have faith in me then I'll take it." Kotori says as she takes Number 49 and puts it into her deck as the green 49 symbol flashes on her collar over heart for a sec before vanishing.

I looked over at the clock, "Shall we go and surprise the others at the Duel Lodge.

"Sure." Kotori says with a nod as she slips her new deck into her pocket.

"Let's go," I say to Kotori as we leave the house and I lock up and Kotori and I climb onto my D-Wheel and take off towards the lodge.

-Zexal-

"Hang on tight, it's gonna be bumpy" I tell Kotori as we speed towards the stairs leading to the lodge.

"Right." Kotori says tightening her grip.

I lift up the front wheel a bit and drive up the stairs the bumping rattling my bones, when we reach the top I give a boost of speed and the D-Wheel Shoots into the air as I land it right in front of Yuma.

"AUUUGGHHHH!" Yuma yells as he falls down in shock.

"Who are you? An old man I recognize as Rokujoru Misawa the owner of the Duel Lodge, I see Yuma, Astral, Cathy, Akari, Haru, Tetsu and a dark haired man standing nearby.

"It hasn't been that long." I say in a teasing voice as Kotori and I take off our helmets.

"VEN" "KOTORI!" Yuma and Cathy yell out in shock.

"Where did you get that bike Ven?" Akari questions me.

"I won it." I tell her in a half lie. "And I'm keeping it no matter what you say." I tell her locking eyes.

Akari gazes at me with her reporter's eyes for a bit before relenting, "Well If I'm letting Yuma duel I suppose I can let you keep the bike." She says with a sigh.

I nod at Akari before turning to Yuma. "Did you find what you lost?" I question him

"Yeah" Yuma says with a nod "I'm ready for Kaito or anything the WDC Throws at me." He says in a confident tone.

"That's the attitude" I tell Yuma with a smile.

"Yuma," Rokujoru says walking up to us holding out a deck, "This is the Duel Lodge's Hidden Deck, this deck is most suited to be with you." He tells Yuma. "I bet this deck will respond to your feelings.

I give an impressed whistle at what Rokujoru just did.

"It this fine?" Yuma questions Rokujoru

"Yeah." Rokujoru tells Yuma with no hesitation as he places the deck in Yuma's hands.

"This is amazing." Tetsuo says as Yuma looks at the deck.

"Now you will be able to shake the World Duel Carnival with your new allies." I tell Yuma.

"Yeah." Yuma says in a happy tone.

"Yuma, do you plan on participating?" Rokujoru questions.

"Yeah, Now I can beat any number of guys" Yuma replies.

I chuckle at Yuma's attitude.

"What about you Ventus." Rokujoru questions me.

"Yeah." I say with a nod.

"Ehh, you know him Ven?" Kotori questions as she wraps her arms around me.

"I trained her once." I tell Kotori.

"Ehh I didn't know that." Kotori replies.

I give her a chuckle, "Well it's not like you know everything about me, even I don't know."

Kotori just chuckles and leans her head into my chest.

"You two are very touchy feely" Akari says with a raised eyebrow.

"Well of course that's what boyfriend and girlfriend do." I say in a nonchalant tone.

"EEEHHHHH!" Everyone yells out in shock.

"G-G-G-G-Girlfriend?!" Yuma stammers out in shock unable to form a sentence.

Kotori and I laugh at everyone's reactions.

-Zexal—

"Thanks for everything old man." Yuma tells Rokujoru as we all get ready to go home.

"Your welcome Yuma, and feel free to come back any time." Rokujoru tells Yuma.

"Yeah" Yuma says with a smile before turning to me, "Ready to head home?"

"Give me a second, I have to do something." I say walking to the top of the long stair case leading down the mountain.

"What?" Yuma questions.

I pull out a slinky from my pocket and place it on the edge and gently push it and its momentum causes it to go down the stairs. "Everyone loves a slinky a slinky a slinky." I chant out as the toy climbs down the stairs as I walks down with it, walking the D-Wheel alongside me. The toy stops just short of the ground on the last step. "OH COME ON!" I yell out in annoyance before turning to my girlfriend, "Can I try again?" I beg her.

Kotori chuckles at my childish antics. "Come on Ven we need to get home."

I nod knowing there would be time later for things like that.

"Is your mother expecting you home?" Haru questions Kotori coming up to us.

Kotori shakes her head "No she said I could stay the night." She tells Haru.

"You're more than welcome." Haru says with a kind smile as we all head towards home.

I had my brother back and a girlfriend, I was ready for what the future might hold as I noticed from the corner of my eye that Cathy and Yuma were a bit closer than normal.

-Zexal-

Hope you all Enjoyed my first fluff chapter, next time we are getting back to the Anime Story with the Yuma VS Jin Duel. Thank you to everyone who has followed my story so far, this book only has 7 Chapters left in it, but fear not a sequel is planned, as a teaser for you guys I will show you the chapter titles for chapters 19 on, 17 and 18 are the same as the episode titles.

**Chapter 19: Pitch Black Number, Dark Ventus Vs Kotori**

**Chapter 20: Protect the Treasured Key, The Number Hunter Returns**

**Chapter 21: To the Past! Awakening in a Strange Place.**

**Chapter 22: Birth of Rebellion**

**Chapter 23: The Paths we take, Go to the Carnival!**

I'm skipping episode 19 since its just a flash back episode and Ven doesn't really have a part in it and 21 since It doesn't impact the plot overall, but Obomi will still be there and a passing ref to Yuma's duel with her will be made.


	18. Chapter 17: The Psychic who Predicts all

**I'm BACK! sorry about the delay, stuff happened that I could go into, but lets be honest you want to get to what you came for, the chapter. quick thing before I start, the poll for my next story is still open and the winner will be revealed when this book is finished, but the poll will stay open with the winner taken down from the choices so you guys can keep voting for the stories you want to see, and I have moved the story summaries for my future projects to my profile.**

**and for those who keep asking Ventus Will Not be getting his own Kuriboh Card, (after all Yusei didn't have one) but that might change for his second or third deck we'll just have to see most likely not though.**

**Chapter 17: The Psychic Who Predicts all Fear!**

It had been a week since Kotori and I started dating. I chuckled as Yuma ran into the school shouting out, "I'll bring it to 'em!"

"He never changes." Kotori comments leaning into my shoulder

I chuckle, "That's what makes Yuma, Yuma." I say wrapping my arm around her waist.

"Yeah." Kotori says with a peppy tone.

"Alright, I ain't late today!" Yuma cheers out as Astral floats down beside him, Yuma pulls out his deck, "With the new cards in this strengthened deck, I'll get my revenge on Kaito for sure!" he comments to himself.

I was happy that Yuma found what he lost, "I just hope you find it as well Astral." I mentally comment looking at my other worldly friend who was floating there with a distant look.

"What's with the gloomy face?" Yuma questions Astral

Astral looks at Yuma for a sec before turning away, "I can't do it after all, Yuma you and I are just different" He tells Yuma.

"What does he mean by that?" I mentally question with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" Yuma says basically asking my question aloud. "That goes without saying" he tells Astral.

"Yuma." I call out gaining his attention to Kotori and I.

"G-Good Morning!" Yuma greets as we walk up to him. I see Takashi and Tetsuo come up as well.

"Morning" I tell them.

"Morning Ven." They greet in reply.

"Takashi says he has something to show us." I tell Yuma grabbing his wrist and pulling him to a more secluded area with the others following me.

"Huh, what's going on?" Yuma questions as I drag him along.

-Zexal—

"Huh, What's this!?" Yuma questions as he looks over the article.

"I found them on the net" Takashi explains. "Lately, there has been an incident involving duelists being assaulted."

"And it said that all of them had Numbers cards." Tetsuo says referring to the victims in the article.

"N-Number!?" Yuma gasps out in shock

I see Astral gasp in shock.

"In summary, you or Ventus might know something about them." Takashi says referring to the article.

"This is the first I heard about it." I say in a white lie. Cause it was the first I heard about that article.

Yuma tosses the D-Pad to Takashi, "So there was an incident like that happening?" Yuma says in a weak attempts to lie. "I had no clue." He says awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.

"You are a horrible liar." I yell Yuma.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Kotori questions

I gently put my hand on her shoulder. "Later" I whisper into her ear.

"Alright." Kotori says with an acceptant nod. "I'm just worried because Numbers seem to be dangerous." She tells me.

"It'll be fine." I tell my girlfriend giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I-I really don't know if they are dangerous." Yuma says in a bad attempt to dodge the talk about Numbers.

I face palm, "Yuma." I groan out.

"I-I'm going to the toilet!" Yuma suddenly yells out running off.

"Oi Yuma!" I yell out.

"What?" Yuma yells out.

"The toilets are that way." I say pointing behind me.

"I'm taking the scenic route" Yuma quips back before running off again.

"Oi Yuma." Tetsuo says as he, Takashi and Astral chase after Yuma.

"What are we gonna do with those morons." I grumble out.

Kotori chuckles a bit as we lean into each other.

"Ven!" Kotori says gaining my attention.

"Hmm?" I say looking at her.

"I'm worried that you might become a target for this hunter coming after the Numbers." Kotori says looking at me with moist eyes.

I put my hand on her chin and make her look me in the eyes, "I'll be fine." I tell Kotori in a no nonsense tone, "Plus I'm strong." I say in a cheeky tone that make her giggle, "There we go that's what I want to see." I tell Kotori as she dries her eyes.

"Yeah." Kotori says with a nod, "You'll stop this Hunter" she says in a cheerful tone.

I laugh, "I don't know about Stop." I say rubbing the back of my head.

Kotori and I just laugh about random things, the feeling helping me to lighten my spirit.

"I hope I'm ready." I mentally tell myself as I subconsciously grab my deck in anticipation for a day I might confront Kaito.

-Zexal-

"I'm going on ahead!" Yuma yells out as he runs out of the class room.

"Wait up Yuma." I call out after him.

"Sorry, Grandma wants me to do something!" Yuma yells back before running off. "Later!"

"Really?" Kotori questions me.

"Nope, he just make a weak excuse to leave." I tell Kotori.

"Geez, its real annoying how he keeps avoiding the topic." Kotori grumbles out.

"Tell me about it." I mutter.

I see Tetsuo and Takashi look at each other for a sec before nodding.

"Kotori, Ven we have a good idea." Tetsuo tells us.

"What's up?" I say wrapping my arms around Kotori's waist and leaning into her shoulder.

"Not here, follow us." Tetsuo says as he leads us to a secluded spot.

-Zexal-

"The Numbers Club?" Kotori questions once Tetsuo tells us about Takashi and his' idea.

"Yeah, we'll combine our efforts to solve the mystery of Numbers." Tetsuo explains.

"To summarize, If Yuma-Kun doesn't want to talk, we'll look for clues ourselves." Takashi explains.

"This is interesting-Ura!" Tokunosue says suddenly popping out of the tree.

Kotori gasps a little in shock at the sudden appearance.

"Yo Tarzan!" I say in a cheeky greeting.

"Yo Ven-Nii." Tokunosuke says in greeting before jumping down from the tree, "Is it okay for me to enter this Numbers Club-Ura?" he questions me.

"Why are you asking me?" I ask with a sweat drop.

"Tokunosuke." Tetsuo comments getting over his slight shock. "That's right, you did have a Numbers, now didn't you?" he questions Tokunosuke.

"That's correct-Ura" Tokunosuke tells Tetsuo. "And after holding a Numbers, your memory is…" He says with a pause.

"Erased." I finish bluntly remembering the actions of all I had taken Numbers from.

"Exactly I can't remember anything-Ura!" Tokunosuke Finishes making Tetsuo and Takashi anime fall and Kotori and I chuckle at their reactions.

"You." Tetsuo comments in frustration.

"E-Em, I would also like to enter the Numbers Club." Cathy says appearing out of nowhere.

"Well, Um…" We all say unsure of how to answer.

"I saw him, Yuma was talking to someone alone." Cathy tells us.

"Wonder what he was talking to Astral about?" Kotori questions.

I give a small shrug.

"What was he talking about?" Tetsuo questions Cathy.

"About Numbers and about beating Kaito." Cathy tells us.

"Kaito?" Tetsuo questions before looking at me, "Ven do you know who that is?" he asks me.

"Yes, I do." I tell him.

"Who is he?" Tetsuo questions me.

"Not, telling." I reply bluntly.

"In summary, He's probably related to those incidents." Takashi comments

"Alright, let's all go search for clues." Tetsuo tells all of us.

"Ok." I say with a nod.

"That's right." Kotori says in agreement. "The six of us are in this Numbers Club!"

"Let's do it!" We all cheer out giving fist pumps to the sky "Yeah!" we yell out before we all split into different groups, with me tagging with Kotori.

-Zexal-

"I'm surprised you agreed to let this club form. Kotori says as we walk along.

"It's kind of a trial run." I tell her.

"Huh?" Kotori questions looking up at me.

"Well the Numbers are dangerous, they are far and many" I explain to her, "Having help would make things easier." I tell her.

"I understand." Kotori says with a nod,

"But, if it gets to dangerous I'm pulling the plug." I tell Kotori with a serious face.

"Sounds fair." Kotori says with a nod.

"You two looking for a Numbers?" A voice questions.

We turn to see our old "Friend".

"Shark/Ryouga." Kotori and I call out happy to see our old friend, well my old friend really.

"Hey, could you tell us anything about the Numbers?" Kotori questions Shark.

"Why, not ask Ven he probably knows more than I do." Ryouga tells Kotori.

"Never hurts to get an outsiders opinion." I tell Ryouga.

"Fair point." Ryouga says before looking at Kotori, "Those cards aren't meant for people like you guys….no, or even me for that matter to be using." He says after a slight pause of thought.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I question Ryouga.

"You shouldn't involve your friends with the Numbers." Ryouga says looking me in the eye before silently walking off

-Zexal-

"How did it go?" Tetsuo questions after we all regroup later that evening

"Nothing" Cathy answers.

"Same for me." Takashi replies. "Didn't find anything"

"Ditto." I say answering for me and Kotori.

"To summarize, we couldn't find any clues!" Takashi points out.

"You're naïve-Ura!" Tokunosuke says coming up to us with a shishishi laugh.

"Why do I want to call him a rubber idiot?" I mentally question upon hearing the laugh.

"You can't find intel in the revealed world." Tokunosuke says leaning against a railing. "Follow me, everyone as I lead you to the _hidden_ world." He tells us.

"What do you think Ven?" Kotori questions me

I ponder it for a bit, "Let's check it out." I say after a few moments of contemplation.

"Follow me-Ura!" Tokunosuke says as we all follow the flip effect duelist.

-Zexal-

We soon arrive at a mansion that looks abandoned.

"Deep in the hidden world lies an old mansion where there are rumors of fortune telling." Tokunosuke explains to us.

"Fortune telling?" Tetsuo questions.

"He's sure to know something about the Numbers-Ura!" Tokunosuke says.

"To summarize, he's not your average person." Takashi says referring to the mystery fortune teller.

"What do you think Ven?" Kotori questions as the group looks at me.

"Great, when did I become leader?" I mentally question crossing my arms and humming in thought, "Any lead on Numbers is a good one so let's give it a shot." I tell them.

The gates suddenly open as a ghostly image of a fortune teller appears behind them.

"I have been awaiting your arrival." The fortune teller says, "Fate has brought you all here in my mansion."

"I don't like fate." I grumble out, "Bastard cheats at cards."

Everyone looks at me with a sweat drop.

The fortune teller shakes his head, "Anyway, welcome Stray Lambs." It greets.

"Lambs?" I question before my stomach growls a bit.

"My powers will lead you to the correct road you're seeking." The fortune teller tells us.

-Zexal-

We walk through the hall of the mansion, Kotori has her hand interlinked with mine as she nestles up close to me.

"It's alright." I tell her silently.

Kotori nods softly and leans her head into my shoulder.

I couldn't stand the silence so I began to whistle an earie tune.

"Cut that out!" Takashi yells in a shiver.

"Make me." I say sticking out my tongue before looking around at the suites of armor and the paintings.

Soon we begins to go down some stairs and we come to a giant door that opens to reveal a wide open room with a single giant sphere in it.

"U-Um…" Tetsuo questions to the fortune teller.

"I saw it all." The fortune teller replies. "You guys are investigating something, am I correct?" he asks.

"Duuuh, why else would we come here, the décor?" I say with a sarcastic quip.

"True" the fortune teller says with a chuckle.

"Do you know anything about it?" Kotori questions.

"Of course I do!" the fortune teller says throwing his arms to the air, "The thing you guys are searching for," he says crossing his arms and making a small orb in is hands.

"Ooh neat trick." I comment.

"It's here, and it's very thin." The fortune teller says looking into the small orb.

"I don't know about thin." I say poking Tetsuo

"Oi!" Tetsuo snaps.

"About some card, huh?" The fortune teller finishes.

"Oh." I say rubbing the back of my head awkwardly.

"They aren't just normal cards." The fortune teller continues as he gazes into the small energy ball, "They hide some special powers."

I raised my eyebrow in slight interest.

"These cards are from Duel Monsters, The Numbers" The fortune teller finishes as his eyes glow blue.

"Yo-You're kidding!" Tetsuo stammers in shock. "We didn't even say a word about the Numbers!"

I took a slight defensive stance in front of Kotori and mentally prepared for anything.

"I-Is this some kind of hidden trick?" Takashi questions.

"What's that mean-Ura?!" Tokunosuke snaps at Takashi, "There's no hidden trick behind it all-Ura!"

"What do you know about the Numbers?" I question the fortune teller

"Numbers are wicked beings." The fortune teller replies.

"Wicked?" I hear Kotori question.

"Those who possess the Numbers have their hearts taken from them." The fortune teller replies. "And they also have their souls stolen from them."

Kotori looks at me with concern.

I put my hand on her shoulder, "He's lying" I tell her with my eyes.

Kotori nods.

"So that's what happened, they lost their souls." I mentally comment thinking about the article. "Yuma." I mutter out in worry.

"Did you just say Yuma?" The fortune teller questions as his orb glows

'Our friend Yuma may not know that the Numbers are dangerous." Kotori answers in a robotic response. "That's why we're trying to solve the mysteries of the Numbers"

"Oi Kotori!" I yell out snapping my fingers in her face, I see the Delta sign glow slightly as Kotori snaps back into focus.

"I see, thank you for telling me this." The fortune teller says dismissing his orb.

"I'm just worried for you and Yuma" Kotori says clenching her fists, I grab her hand and softly rub circles with my finger.

"You're worried that your friend is a proprieter of the Numbers cards." The fortune teller says coming up to us.

I give him a warning glare,

"This is all an act of fate." He tells us.

"Oi Ven, Kotori." Tetsuo commetns.

"I will make you guys into scapegoats!" The fortune teller says as he jumps back.

"Nani!?" I bite out as the floor begins the crumble.

"Kotori" I yell out as I pull her into a bridal style carry as we all begins to fall in to the pit, I notice Cathy manage to jump her way out, I would of gone with her but I didn't have any good foot holds where I was.

"Déjà vu" I say to Kotori as we fall.

"It was our first date." Kotori says with a small chucke.

"Oi, time and place." Tetsuo says.

Soon after we land on a pillar of land in the middle of a volcano.

"Talk about a hot situation." I joke lightly.

"This isn't a good time for jokes-Ura." Tokunosueke comments.

"Just trying to lighten the mood" I say sitting down and dangling my legs over the edge as I silently wait for Yuma.

"To summarize, where is this place!?" Takashi yells out.

"Help us-Ura!" Tokunosue yells out.

"CALM DOWN!" I snap at them giving them a death glare making them all shut up.

"Everyone, hang in there." Kotori tells the others.

"Ven, Kotori!" we hear Yuma's voice yell out.

"Looks like the cavalries arrived" I comment as we look at the orb showing the room we were previously in.

"Everyone!" Yuma yells out as he and Cathy appear from the stairs. "That's" he starts looking into the orb, "Ven, Everyone!" he calls out.

Tokunosuke begins to yell out in a panic for Yuma to save us.

"URUSAI!" I yell out driving my fist into his head.

"Welcome, Yuma-kun!" The fortune teller says as he appears to Yuma. "The one who possesses the Numbers!"

"This voice." Yuma comments, "Give my brother and the others back, you jerk" Yuma yells at the fortune teller.

"If you desire to save your friends, then duel me." The fortune teller tells Yuma. "Kaito-sama is watching" he says pointing to a long staircase.

I turn to see the familiar figure of Kaito sitting on a throne at the top.

"K-Kaito." I hear Astral stammer out in fear.

"This is bad." I comment.

"Huh?" Kotori says at the others look at me.

"Astral is so consumed by his fear of Kaito, that he can't recognize a fake.

"You mean that's just a statue." Kotori questions.

I nod, "I didn't feel any other presences beside the seven of us earlier." I tell them.

"Astral?" Yuma questions to the spectral being.

"Kaito-Sama, I will take away his Numbers for you, Kaito-sama." The fortune teller says.

"From what I can tell, this fortune teller is a massive Kaito fangirl." I comment.

"But the fortune teller's a guy." Takashi points out.

"I know what I said." I reply.

"What did you say!?" Yuma snaps at the fortune teller.

"I'll take those Numbers of yours away!" The fortune teller tells Yuma.

"Just fine!" Yuma tells the fortune teller. "I'll definitely win and save everyone!" he says in a confident tone.

"Duel-Disk Set, D-Gazer Set!" Yuma announces as he puts on his dueling gear. "Target lock-on!"

"AR vision – link established" the computer states.

"DUEL!" Yuma and the fortune teller yell out. (**Jin: 4000**) (**Yuma: 4000**)

"I'll have the first move!" the now revealed to be named Jin says, "It's my turn, Draw!" Jin calls out drawing his card, "I summon Orange Shaman!" he says placing the monster on the Duel Disk, as a masked tribal warrior appears. (**Orange Shaman, Level 4, 0 Atk**)

"A monster with 0 attack power?" I hear Astral comment.

"Then I set a card face-down and end my turn!" Jin says as his set card materializes.

"Here I go, my turn, Draw!" Yuma yells out drawing for his turn. "I summon Gogogo Golem" he says slapping the card onto the Monster Zone, as the rock golem appears on the field, (**Gogogo Golem, Level 4, 1800 Atk**)

"How's that!?" Yuma questions, "IF you take his attack, you'll receive great damage in one blow!" he tells Jin.

"Don't get overconfident Yuma." I whisper under my breath as I watch the duel.

"I activate Orange Shaman's effect!" Jin says with a grin. "If the opponent summons an effect monster, I can Special Summon a "Shaman" monster from my hand." He says as Orange Shaman does a little dance, "Appear before me, Red Shaman!" he says placing the card onto the Duel Disk as the second tribal warrior appears. (**Red Shaman, Level 4, 0 Atk**)

"Another one with 0 attack power?" Astral mutters. "Be careful, Yuma!" he tells Yuma.

"What are you saying?" Yuma questions Astral. "With their attack powers being 0, it's a chance to deal great damage!" he tells Astral.

"Be careful, Yuma." I mutter as he orders Gogogo Golem to attack.

"Trap card open!" Jin yells out as his set card flips over, "Dance of the Divine Protection, this card, I choose a card from the opponent's hand, and if it's a monster then the attack is negated!" he explains.

"So it's based on luck?" Kotori questions.

I shake my head, "I wouldn't put it past this guy to cheat." I tell her.

"I can see through everything!" Jin says.

"Don't think you can fool me, you can't do such a thing!" Yuma tells Jin.

"Yuma, watch out!" Cathy yells out in concern.

"You have 5 cards in your hand." Jin comments, "And only 1 among them is a monster card, that card is the second to the right!" He tells Yuma

"I knew it." I comment.

"What!?" Yuma gasps out in shock as Gogogo Golem's attack is stopped.

"At this moment, due to Dance of the Divine Protector's effect the selected card goes to the cemetery and I can draw one more card!" Jin explains as he draws his card.

"Gagaga Magician was sent to the cemetery?" Yuma questions as he places the card into the Graveyard. "Could he have seen through it?" he questions.

"He only had 1 Monster in his hand." Astral comments, "As I thought this guy, has some special powers given to him by Kaito,"

I frowned sadly, realizing how deep Astral's fear was truly running, I feel Kotori grip my hand and give me a comforting smile, I return the smile and placer her on my land and hold her securely.

"Damn it, at this rate." Yuma groans out.

"Yuma, protect it!" Astral orders Yuma. "You must protect the Trap in the hand!"

"I don't have any choice now." Yuma comments, "I set a card face-down and end my turn." He says as the set card materializes.

"It's my turn, Draw!" Jin yells out drawing his card, "I activate the Magic Card, Shaman Call!" he says placing the card inside his Duel-Disk, as the card materializes on the field, "This card, If I have 2 Spellcaster-type monsters with 0 Attack Power on my field, I can Special Summon a level 4 or lower "Shaman" from my deck!" he explains the card's effect, "I Special Summon Green Shaman!" he yells out as the third tribal warrior appears on his field, (**Green Shaman, Level 4, 0 Atk**)

"What?!" Yuma yells out in shock.

"This is why he continued to summon monsters with 0 attack powers." Astral comments.

"Witness my Numbers strength!" Jim declares. "I overlay the Level 4 Orange Shaman, Red Shaman and Green Shaman!" he announces throwing his hand into the air as the three shamans enter the Overlay Network, "With these 3 Level 4 Monsters I construct the Overlay Network." He chants out, "Xyz Summon, Appear Numbers 16: Ruler of Color – Shock Ruler!" (**Number 16: Ruler of Color – Shock Ruler, Rank 4, 2300 Atk**)

"This is his Number." Yuma comments out in shock.

"I activate Shock Ruler's effect!" Jin announces, "Once per turn, by detaching an Overlay Unit, I declare 1 card type, and that type of card's effect is negated until the opponent's second End Phase!" he explains as an Overlay Unit is absorbed into Shock Ruler's horn.

"Has its effect negated!?" Yuma questions in shock.

"Right, the card I declare can't be used for 2 turns!" Jin confirms. "I can see through it!" he tells Yuma again. "The type of card your face-down is!"

"This is bad!" Astral yells out.

"Your face-down is a Trap Card isn't it?" Jin mockingly asks Yuma.

"No way!" Yuma gasps out in shock, as the set card is pinned down.

"Now your attack negating chance is gone." Jin tells Yuma.

Yuma growls in annoyance.

"Shock Ruler, attack Gogogo Golem!" Jin orders the Number as it charges at Gogogo Golem and destroys Yuma's only Monster.

Yuma yells out as he is sent flying by the attack as his life drops. (**Yuma: 4000 – 3500**)

When Yuma's life drops a piece of the platform were on crumbles causing Kotori to scream and grab onto me in a death grip.

"C-Cant breath Kotori" I weakly rasp out.

"S-Sorry" Kotori apologizes loosening her hold.

"The lives of your friends depends on your life!" Jin tells Yuma. "If you lose, everything will break and fall apart!" he tells Yuma. "They will cry to death in the magma!"

"What!?" Yuma yells out in panic.

"Now before my strength, Begone before Kaito-Sama!" Jin tells Yuma.

I see Astral looking at the Kaito statue, "I see, I'm afraid of Kaito." He says in realization, "Is this the feeling called "Fear"?"

"Astral" I mutter in worry.

"Hey Ven, how come your not panicking?" Tetsuo asks about my complete calm about us being in a volcano.

"Simple, Can you feel the heat?" I ask in a vague response as I keep my gaze on my two brother's struggle.

-Zexal-


	19. Chapter 18: Chaos XYZ Change!

**Chapter 18: Chaos XYZ Change! Light of Hope: Hope Ray!**

_Last Time:_

_"__Simple, Can you feel the heat?" I ask in a vague response as I keep my gaze on my two brother's struggle._

-Zexal—

"So you mean this is just an AR-Ura?" Tokunosuke questions me.

"Correct" I say with a nod

"Great then to summarize we can get out of here!" Takashi says as he goes to jump off the pillar we're on before I grab him by the scruff of his shirt.

"Hold it." I scold him, "Just because the lava isn't real doesn't mean the fall is."

"So what you're saying is we're stuck here until Yuma wins." Kotori points out.

I nod and grip her hand. "We just gotta have faith." I say turning my attention back to the duel.

"Now, kneel before my master, Kaito-sama!" Jin says boastfully before telling Yuma he ends his turn.

Yuma gives a tch before looking over at the orb showing all of us, "Ven, Everyone." He hisses out

"Yuma." Kotori mutters in worry for our friend.

"It'll be alright." I say putting a hand on her shoulder, "Yuma's a tough one."

Kotori nods, "Yeah." She says with a cheerful smile.

"I'll save them for sure!" Yuma mutters to himself,

"Please, everyone will…" I hear Cathy mutter softly.

"Astral, oi Astral!" Yuma calls out to Astral, I notice Astral is spacing out.

"What's wrong with Astral?" Kotori questions

I look at Astral, "Fear." I tell her bluntly

Kotori gives a nod of understanding.

"What are you daydreaming about!?" Yuma yells at Astral once he has Astral's attention again.

"If you're not gonna do anything, get lost!" Yuma tells Astral as he looks at his hand.

"Yuma, you have no monsters in your hand, and due to Shock Ruler's effect you can't use Traps." Astral points out to Yuma. "If you don't draw a monster card on this draw, we will…" He says trailing off

"That's why I'll get a monster!" Yuma says as he places his hand on his deck, "My Turn, Draw!" he yells out as he draws his card. Before looking at it, "Alright, I got a Monster Card." He cheers before stopping short and looking at it. "Kuribolt?" he questions.

"Kuribolt?" I question, "So he drew the card I gave him." I comment

"He only has 300 attack points!" Yuma comments.

"That Monster is…" I hear Astral comment before floating closer to Yuma, "Yuma, summon that Kuribolt!" he tells Yuma.

"This weak monster?" Yuma questions.

"Just summon it already!" Astral orders Yuma.

"It seems like Astral can see it." I comment.

"I got it." Yuma bites at Astral giving him a face, "I summon Kuribolt!" he says placing the Monster onto his D-Pad. The Kuri monster appears and gives off some bolts of lightning while chirping out Kuri Kuri. (**Kuribolt, Level 1, 300 Atk**)

"This is good." Astral tells Yuma. "By detaching the Overlay Units currently on the field, Kuribolt can Special Summon Kuribolt Tokens on your field." He explains to Yuma. "Currently on the field, Shock Ruler's Overlay Units are 2."

"That's right." Yuma says in realization. "I activate Kuribolt's effect!" he announces throwing his hand out, "Kuribolt will multiply itself by 2 equal to Shock Ruler's Overlay Units!" he explains as Kuribolt launches an electrical rope at Shock Ruler and pulls it's overlay units to itself.

"Alright!" Yuma cheers as two more Kuribolts appear on his field. "Awesome, now there are 3 Kuribolts!" he cheers out.

"What an outstanding effect." Jin says in what screams a mocking tone.

"Be careful Yuma." I mutter softly under my breath.

"But what can you do with three weaklings?" Jin questions in full forced mocking. "I can see it!" he tells Yuma, "The number of monster cards in your hand is 0!"

"How is he doing that?" I question, being bothered on not knowing how he is able to tell Yuma's hand.

"You can no longer summon powerful monsters!" Jin points out to Yuma.

"Don't panic, Yuma." Astral tells Yuma. "Use Boltage Summon!" he orders Yuma.

"R-Right!" Yuma stammers out slightly grabbing a card from his hand, "I activate the Magic Card, Boltage Summon!" he announces as he slaps the Spell Card into his Duel Disk.

"This card, by releasing all Kuribolt Tokens on the field, we can Special Summon level 4 or lower monsters from our deck equal to the same amount of Tokens." Astral explains to Yuma.

"That's right!" Yuma cheers out in realization.

"I release the 2 Kuribolt Tokens!" Yuma announces as he puts the Tokens into his Cemetery. "To Special Summon Ganbara Knight and Shadow Lizard from my Deck!" he says as he grabs two cards form his deck and holds them up before placing them on his Duel Disk., "But the monsters Special Summoned with this effect have their attack and defense power reduced to 0!" he explains as the two monsters appear on the field. (**Ganbara Knight, Level 4, 0 Atk**) (**Shadow Lizard, Level 4, 0 Atk**)

"Now show them your hope, Yuma." I say with a cheerful smile.

"I Overlay the Level 4 Shadow Lizard and Ganbara Knight!" Yuma announces as his two monsters enter the Overlay Network, "I use these to monsters to construct the Overlay Network!" Yuma chants out as the Overlay Network explodes, "Xyz Summon, Appear Number 39 Aspiring Emperor Hope!" he calls out as his Ace Monster appears from its sealed form. (**Number 39 Aspiring Emperor Hope, Rank 4, 2500 Atk**)

"Yuma" Astral mutters to himself, "In such a situation he drew Kuribolt, and used it for a combo to call out Hope!" he mutters to himself in awe, "Someone like him…"

"So this if your Numbers?" Jin questions with a chuckle.

"Go, Hope, attack Shock Ruler!" Yuma orders his Number, "Hope Sword Slash!"

Hope charges forth and slashes Number 16 to pieces and destroys it.

Jin grunts as his life falls slightly. (**Jin: 4000 – 3800**)

"Alright, I destroyed his Numbers!" Yuma cheers out.

"Don't get cocky Yuma." I hiss out in worry as Kotori grips my hand in reassurance, making me grip her hand in return.

"I still have an attack left!" Yuma announces, "I now attack directly with Kuribolt!" he announces as Kuribolt charges forth.

Jin gives out a grunt as the shocks lower his life once again. (**Jin: 3800 – 3500**)

"Unbelievable!" Tetsuo comments.

"He did it-Ura!" Tokunosuke cheers.

"I wouldn't be cheering yet guys. I point out.

"What do you mean?" Tetsuo questions.

"I feel this is just the calm before the storm." I say turning my full attention to the duel.

"Just wait everyone, I'll save you right away!" Yuma tells us before turning to face Jin, "Okay, with this I end my Turn" he begins to state.

"Wait!" Astral interrupts Yuma, "Set the Traps in your hand!" he tells Yuma.

"Huh?" Yuma questions.

"You can't use Traps yet, but they'll be useful." Astral explains to Yuma.

"That's right, I understand!" Yuma says in realization grabbing two cards from his hand, "I set 2 cards face-down and end my turn!" he announces as his cards materialize face down.

"I see, so there might be some hope after all." Astral comments.

Jin gives out a chuckle causing all of us to look in his direction, his chuckle turns into a full out maniacal laugh.

"W-What is it?" Yuma questions slightly freaked out. "What's funny?!" he questions demandingly.

"Don't get ahead of yourself!" Jin tells Yuma, "You've simply allowed yourself to suffer even more!" he tells Yuma.

-Zexal-

"It's my turn, Draw!" Jin announces as he draws his card, "From my hand I Special Summon Rainbow Shaman!" he says placing the card onto the Monster Zone of his D-Pad, "If I don't have any monsters on my field, and if there's an Xyz Monster on the opponent's field, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!" he explains as the rainbow colored tribal warrior appears on the field. (**Rainbow Shaman, Level 7, 0 Atk**)

"Level 7?! That's not good." Yuma comments in shock

"But its attack power is 0." Astral points out.

"Then I select Rainbow Shaman, to activate the Permanent Magic, Xyz Plant!" Jin declares as he holds up the spell card, "The Continuous Magic, Xyz Plant is Special Summoned as a monster with 0 attack power!" he explains as a copy of Rainbow Shaman appears next to the original. "And its level will be the same as Rainbow Shaman which is level 7!" he explains

"A Magic Card became a Monster!?" Yuma questions in shock.

"It's coming," I mutter under my breath.

"Could it be?" Astral questions.

"I overlay the level 7 Rainbow Shaman and Xyz Plant!" Jin declares as his two monsters enter into the Overlay Network, "I use these two monsters to construct the Overlay Network!" he chants out as the two monsters enter the network and it explodes, "Xyz Summon, Appear, Numbers 11, the ruler with the all controlling eye, Big Eye!" (**Number 11: Big Eye, Rank 7, 2500 Atk**)

"N-No way!" Yuma stammers out in shock. "Two Numbers!?"

"I knew it, he had another Numbers." I comment mostly to myself.

"Furthermore, It's Rank 7" Astral comments.

"Did you think that I had just one Numbers?" Jin questions as the mark of **11** appears on his forehead. "I have obtained this power from Kaito-sama!"

"Bullshit." I fake cough, "Ow." I whine out rubbing the back of my head where Kotori just hit me.

"Language." Kotori mock scolds me

We stare at each other for a moment before we both give off a chuckle and turn our attention back to the duel.

"C-Can he really win against him!?" Tokunosuke questions in an unsure tone.

"Yeah." I tell Tokunosuke rubbing his head, "You just gotta have faith."

"To summarize, he's too powerful!" Takashi complains making me flick him on the face to get him to shut up.

"Ven's right, just believe in Yuma." Kotori tells the other boys.

"Yuma, don't panic." Astral tells Yuma. "You have Hope's effect!" he reminds Yuma.

"I know that!" Yuma retorts to Astral. "By detaching Hope's Overlay Units, I can negate attacks, even if its rank 7, its attacks are useless!" he tells Jin in a confident tone.

I shake my head, "You poked the lion with the stick, you shouldn't have done that." I mutter under my breath in annoyance.

"I activate Big Eye's monster effect!" Jin announces with a laugh, "By detaching an Overlay Unit, Big Eye can control on of the opponent's monsters!" he explains as an Overlay Unit is absorbed into the giant eye on Big Eye. "Your Numbers, Aspiring Emperor Hope is mine!"

"W-What!?" Yuma yells out in shock

"Now Big Eye, Temptation Glance!" Jin orders his Number as its eye glows red and Hope goes over to Jin's side of the field.

"No way, my Hope is…" Yuma mutters in shock.

"This is the ability of a Rank 7?" Astral questions. "It can control any monster."

"Now Aspiring Emperor Hope, as my pawn, attack Kuribolt." Jin orders the controlled Hope as It attacks Kuribolt destroying it.

Yuma lets out a scream as he is sent flying by the attack. (**Yuma: 3500 – 1300**)

More of the platform were standing on falls off making us have to step a bit closer together.

"Save us-Ura!" Tokunosuke yells out in fear.

"Calm Down!" I snap at him, "Panicking won't help us get out of here any faster.

"In the turn that its Xyz effect was used, Big Eye can't attack." Jin explains, "They are deep in fear now!" he tells Yuma about us,

I look at our group, sure Takashi, Tetsuo and Tokunosuke had fear written all over them but Kotori was completely calm and all I saw in her eyes were faith and trust, directed at me.

"I set one card face-down and end my turn!" Jin says with a laugh as his card materializes face down.

"Not yet!" Yuma yells out after struggling to stand for a bit, "My turn, Draw!" he yells out drawing his card. I notice Yuma's eyes light up in slight happiness at the draw, he must have gotten something good.

"Did you forget I can see through all of your cards?" Jin reminds Yuma.

"What?!" Yuma gasps out in shock.

"You drew a monster card!" Jin declares.

"I activate the Continuous Trap, Dance of Forbidden Summon!" Jin announces as his set card flips face up, "Both players, for 2 turns, Cannot Summon, Special Summon, or set a monster from their hands!" Jin explains as the field is covered in Ice.

"If he can't summon monsters, he can't block his attacks!" Tokunosuke points out.

"I think that's the point." I comment.

"No way." Kotori comments in worry, I slightly tighten my grip on her hand in a reassurance gesture.

"With this I end my turn!" Yuma hisses out.

"My turn, Draw!" Jin declares as he draws his card, he looks at it for a sec before chuckling, "It's over now, fall into the pits of Hell along with your friends!" His Number 11 mark glows slightly, "Battle, Big Eye attacks directly!" he announces.

"The Trap Card, Yuma!" Astral orders Yuma.

"Th-That's right!" Yuma says snapping out of it. "I can use Traps this turn!" he says in remembrance, "Trap activate, Hope Block!" Yuma announces as one of his set cards flip open, "With this card, if the opponent's monster attacks directly, by sending a monster card from my hand to the cemetery" He explains as he pushes the only card in his hand into the Cemetery, "The battle damage goes down by its attack power!" he explains as the Grave Portal opens and Dododo Warrior appears from it and takes the attack.

"Dododo Warrior, protect us!" Yuma begs of his Monster as Big Eye attacks it, Yuma lets out a groan as his life falls by 300 (**Yuma: 1300 – 1000**)

"Don't think you've escaped the fear of death just yet!" Jin tells Yuma, "Take this, Aspiring Emperor Hope attacks directly!" he orders to controlled Hope once more,

"Yuma, your other Trap!" Astral reminds Yuma in an urgent tone.

"Right, Trap activate, Xyz Weight!" Yuma declares as his set card flips open.

"With this card, for each Overlay Unit attached to a Xyz Monster, its attack power goes down by 800 points!" Astral explains as chains wrap around Number 39. (**2500 – 900**)

Yuma and Astral are sent flying by the attack

"Yuma!" Kotori and I yell out in worry. (**Yuma: 1000 – 100**)

Kotori screams out as she begins to fall, but I quickly grab her and lift her up and place her on my shoulders in a lightning quick movement.

"Whew, thanks Ven." Kotori says giving off a sigh of relief.

"Managed to somehow survive these 2 monster's attacks, eh?!" Jin mock questions Yuma, "Then I activate the Continuous Magic, Dance of Prevent Reborn!" he says as he plays a card from his hand. "Both players cannot summon monsters from their cemeteries!" he explains as the Spell appears on his field,

The Graveyard portal appears for a moment as the gate on it closes.

"I've basically tied your hands and legs here!" Jin mocks Yuma

"Yuma." I mutter in worry for my brother as Kotori gently grips my shoulder with her hand, I reach up and grasp her hand in mine.

"You have no monsters on your field, on the other hand, I have 2 powerful monsters!" Jin points out, as the chains on hope break and its attack goes back to 2500. "Resistance is futile!" he tells Yuma, "In my next turn, your life and your friends' lives are over!" he says with a laugh, "I end my turn!"

"Now Yuma, show me you can obtain it, a new evolution." I comment as I watch the view intently.

"Damn it." Yuma curses unable to stand.

"Now it's over." Astral comments in a defeated tone.

"Everyone." Yuma states weakly.

"There's only one way to save your friends." Jin tells Yuma.

Yuma gasps out in shock.

"Just surrender this duel and bare witness." Jin tells Yuma, "Accept your defeat and give me your Numbers, if you do that, your friend's live will be spared." He tells Yuma.

"What did you say!?" Yuma gasps in shock.

"So how about it?" Jin questions, "It's a pleasant offer, just one sacrifice and all your friend will be saved" he tells Yuma

"Don't even THINK about it." I hiss under my breath.

Another piece of the platform breaks off

"Save us, Ura!" Tokunosuke yells out in fear.

"Yuma." Tetsuo mutters.

"Don't Do that!" Kotori yells out.

I nod in agreement, "I'll Never forgive you if you do!" I comment in addition.

"Yuma!" Cathy comments in worry.

Jin begins to laugh in amusement. "This has become even more entertaining!" he comments to himself. "Weep in your own suffering"

I clench my fist in anger at Jin, Kotori rubs my head calming my down slightly.

I see Astral float over to in front of Yuma, before looking at the statue of Kaito, "As I thought, I couldn't fight after all." Astral comments to himself, "There's no possibility of a counterattack, if you continue dueling like this you can't save them." He tells Yuma. "Right now there's only one thing in our hands that we can do, by surrendering the Numbers cards and me!"

"You…" Yuma gasps out in shock.

"I will be annihilated with you." Astral mutters to himself. "Just surrender"

"Don't do it." I yell out, "I don't want to lose a friend." I mutter under my breath.

"Astral." Kotori mutters in worry.

"STOP KIDDING ME!" Yuma yells out at Astral.

"Yuma." Astral mutters in shock

"I'm dueling to save them, Even though I might end up losing, but they're my best friends that dueled alongside me." Yuma comments. "And I can't betray them!" he tells Astral.

"Yuma, that's why I…" Astral begins to say.

"You still don't get it!?" Yuma yells at Astral, "You're my best friend, Astral!" he yells at Astral turning to face him.

"So you finally accepted him, Yuma." I say with a smile as Astral's body pulses.

"Yuma." Astral mutters in shock

"Hey kid, hurry up and surrender and hand over the Numbers!" Jin tells Yuma.

"Stop joking around!" Yuma snaps at Jin, "I will never surrender!"

"Fine then." Jin says in a dismissive tone. "Kaito-_sama_ will enjoy taking away your soul!" he tells Yuma.

"Hey, Kaito!" Yuma yells at the statue, "Is this guy really your subordinate?" he questions "Kaito", "Is this guy with you in your duels?"

Yuma gasps in slight realization, "Hey, is that really Kaito over there?" Yuma questions pointing at the statue.

"W-What do you mean?" Jin questions in shock.

"It can't be…" Cathy says in realization before she begins leaping up the stairs to where "Kaito" is. "I'm gonna cat it to 'em!" she yells out as she begins to scratch the statue furiously, She manages to cut off the head of the statue causing it to tumble down the stairs.

"A Puppet?" Yuma questions in shock.

"What does this mean?" Astral questions.

"No way, my Kaito-_Sama_!" Jin mutters in shock.

"As I thought." Yuma comments, "I've dueled Kaito before, his strength is fearsome but he's not the type of person that enjoys dueling by watching people suffer." He comments. "He's not someone who'd use your ways!" Yuma yells out clenching his fist and pointing at Jin.

Jin grunts in shock.

"I was afraid of that thing?" Astral questions looking at the statue head.

"I was afraid as well." Yuma says with a chuckle. "But we found hope by not giving up!" he tells Astral, "Let's bring it to em'!

"Yuma." Astral mutters softly. "That's right, the feeling I had was not only fear, the precious feelings you gave me, I just want to win for you, Ven and all your friends" He mutters to himself as the Emperor's Key glows brightly and sends a blast of energy at Astral.

"You…" Yuma gasps out in shock.

"W-What?" Jin also questions in shock.

"Astral seems more clear." I mutter to myself.

"Let's win, Yuma!" Astral tells Yuma.

"Astral!" Yuma cheers out in happiness. "Here I go, my turn…Draw!" he yells out drawing his card. "The Magic Card, Come Back!"

"Bring Hope back with this card!" Astral orders Yuma.

"Alright!" Yuma cheers out, "I activate the Magic Card, Come Back!" he says holding up the Spell. "With this card, I take back the monster that was controlled!" he explains the card's effect. "Come Back, Hope!" he says as Hope returns to his side of the field.

"What!?" Jin yells out in shock.

"Now Hope is back home where he belongs." I say with a smile.

"The pieces of a new way to victory have all gathered here!" Astral announces as he holds out his hand and Yuma's Extra Deck begins to glow.

"This is…" Yuma comments in shock as he pulls a card from his Extra Deck.

"The power of hope, the one who can truly change light, Chaos Numbers 39" Astral explains to Yuma.

"Chaos Numbers?" I question.

"Chaos Numbers?" Yuma says parroting my question.

"This card overlays Aspiring Emperor Hope with its own Overlay Units, and evolves it!" Astral explains as Hope returns to its sealed form and reenters the Overlay Network, "Let's go Yuma." he tells Yuma.

"Right!" Yuma cheers in agreement.

"Chaos Xyz Change!" Yuma and Astral declare together, "Appear now, Chaos Numbers 39, Aspiring Emperor Hope Ray!" A new version of Hope appears from the Overlay Network.

"W-What is that?!" Tetsuo questions in shock.

"Amazing" Kotori comments.

"Yeah it is." I say with a nod, I put a hand on my extra deck where Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon was housed, "So you've found your evolution Yuma" I mentally say with a smile

"Chaos Numbers?!" Jin questions in shock. "But my Big Eye is still stronger, you can't win!" he reminds Yuma.

"Aspiring Emperor Hope Ray's effect activates!" Yuma and Astral announce together, "For each of its Overlay Units used, Its attack power goes up by 500 points!" they explain as Hope Ray extends its arms and grabs its sword from its back, "I'm using all of its 3 Overlay Units!" Yuma and Astral announce as the three Overlay Units are absorbed into Hope Ray's sword. "Hope Ray's attack power goes up, Overlay Charge!" they announce as Hope Ray's attack goes up by 1500 (**2500 Atk – 4000 Atk**)

"What!?" Jin stammers out in shock

"Then the opponent's monster's attack power goes down by 1000 for each Overlay Unit!" Yuma and Astral further explain as Big Eye's attack drops down to 0 (**2600 Atk – 0 Atk**)

"No way!" Jin stammers in protest.

"Go, Aspiring Emperor…" Yuma begins, "Hope Ray" Astral finishes with Yuma, "Attack Big Eye!" They declare together, "Hope Sword Chaos Slash!" Hope Ray draws two additional swords and slashes Big Eye to pieces

Jin yells out as he is sent flying back by the attack. (**Jin: 3500 – 0**) (**Yuma: WIN**)

The pillar we're standing on vanishes revealing that we're just standing on a table, I rub the top of my head sheepishly, "Apparently we would have been fine" I comment

I gently set Kotori down from atop my shoulders, "You okay?" I ask her.

"Yeah." Kotori answers with a nod and grasps my hand, "Come on lets go meet up with Yuma."

"Yeah." I say with a nod as the five of us run out of the room.

-Zexal-

"Yo Toma" I call out as I open the door to the room Yuma was in.

"It's Yuma" Yuma yells out in annoyance.

Yuma and I stare for a bit before we both chuckle, "You did great Yu" I compliment him.

"Heh Heh, of course." Yuma says in a confident tone.

I flick him on the nose, "Don't get to cocky you still can't beat me." I tease him.

Yuma smiles before turning to the others, "I'm glad you're safe." He tells them.

"Astral was amazing." Kotori compliments

I nod, "They both did well."

"Thank you, Astral!" Tetsuo comments

"That was outstanding!" Takashi comments.

"We're friends from now on. Tokunosuke tells Astral

I softly chuckle because they're looking nowhere near where Astral was right now.

"Y-You guys, why are you all thanking Astral?" Yuma complains.

I chuckle, "Don't you usually save a friend who saves you?" I question him.

"Y-Yeah, But…" Yuma weakly protests, "I saved them!" he yells out in protest.

I flick Yuma on the forehead again to get him to quiet down

Yuma gives off a huff before storming off, "You guys are really rude, you know that?!" he complains as he walks off.

"Yuma, wait" Cathy calls after him as she and the other boys run out after Yuma, leaving Astral, Kotori and I.

I turn to Astral, "Thanks for that Astral" I tell him sincerely.

Astral looks at me for a moment, "Your welcome Ventus, you to Kotori." He says looking at her.

Kotori just smiles and nods.

Astral looks towards where Yuma left, "Observation # 13: If you have friends, you can believe in hope." He comments to himself, "Thank you Yuma, for acknowledging me as a friend" he says with a smile.

"Come on Mister Happy." I say slapping Astral on the back, let's go home

"I am Astral, not the Mister Happy." Astral says with a smile on his face.

"D-did you just make a joke?" I question in shock, that the serious Astral made a joke.

"Maybe." Astral answers with a smirk.

"Come on lets go home." I say wrapping my arms around Kotori and Astral's shoulders as the three of us head out after Yuma.

-Zexal-

**sorry everyone for the late update again, real life just got busy, so didn't have as much time, hopefully I'll be able to update a bit more frequently now since things have calmed down a bit. Next time we are introduced to my favorite Zexal character and Ven's future spirit partner as well as Kotori's first duel.**


	20. Chapter 19: Pitch Black Numbers!

**Chapter 19: The Pitch-Black Numbers: Dark Ventus Vs Kotori**

Kotori and I were standing atop a building while we watched Yuma duel a Number Holder, on Yuma's field was Number 39 Aspiring Emperor Hope, and on the Holder's side was 3 copies of Giant Germ.

"I Overlay my three Level 2 Giant Germs!" The Holder Declares as the three monsters enter the Overlay Network

"Here it comes." I comment.

"I construct the Overlay Network with these three Level 2 Monsters." The Holder Chants out, "Xyz Summon, Come forth, Numbers 96 Black Mist!" (**Number 96: Black Mist, Rank 2, 100 ATK**)

The Number that appeared looked like a humanoid slime monster.

"100 ATK?" I question to myself.

"Don't tell me, it's very weak?" Kotori questions.

"Doubtful." I say with a shake of my head, "Yuma better be careful." I comment.

"Let me crush this Numbers!" Yuma says in a confident tone.

I stumble a bit, "This is Not what I meant." I mutter to myself, "Wait Yuma, if you recklessly attack you might run into an effect that will make you lose!" I yell at him.

"Don't attack recklessly!" Astral yells at Yuma.

"I attack Black Mist with Hope!" Yuma declares

"BAKA!" I yell out, biting my lip in worry for the Holder's counterattack.

"Go, Hope!" Yuma yells out pointing forward, "HOPE SWORD SLASH!" he yells out as Number 39 draw's its sword and slashes the Number to pieces.

The Holder yells out as he is sent flying. (**Holder: 1000 – 0**) (**Yuma: WIN!**)

"I did it, a big win!" Yuma cheers out.

I frowned and took of my D-Gazer as the AR turned off, "Why didn't he use any effect?" I mentally question, "It's almost like the Number wanted to be taken, but that's impossible a Number can't be sentient…right?" I cross my arms in thought as I watch Astral take the Number.

"That was awesome, Yuma!" Kotori compliments Yuma.

"A piece of cake, I call it perfect victory!" Yuma boasts

I stand there with my hair shadowing my face, not letting my feelings show.

-Zexal-

"Did you see that?" Yuma boasts as we were all walking home, "Hmph, as long as I'm around, the Numbers stand no chance!" he brags.

"It's just a single win you know." Kotori says with an exasperated sigh

I crossed my Arms, "Yuma you were really reckless with Hope's attack, it was dangerous." I scold him.

"It's alright, that kind of Numbers ain't worth it." Yuma says brushing it off.

I was fed up with Yuma's attitude, I slapped him across the face, Hard.

Kotori gasps in shock

I clenched my fist, "THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" I yell at Yuma who was now on the ground, "One." I say holding up three fingers before pausing and putting one down. "You have No clue about the effects of that monster, and B you should thank your lucky star's that the Holder didn't use any effect or did you forget that Astral's life was in the balance in that duel too?" I question him.

Yuma sits there in silence for a bit before standing up, "But I won anyway, I have my own ways to do things." He yells in retort.

I grab Yuma by the scruff of his shirt, "Yuma your attitude lately isn't pleasant." I scold him.

"You're so Damn annoying." Yuma complains grabbing my cheeks and pulling on them.

I pull on Yuma's ears as we yell incoherently at each other.

I activate my duel disk and Yuma activates his and we clash with them like swords.

"STOOOOOOOOP IT!" Kotori yells at Yuma and me.

"S-Scary!" I mentally comment feeling a sweat drop of fear run down the back of my neck.

-Zexal-

The next day Kotori and I were walking into class, I had a bandage of my neck slightly hidden from view by my shirt due to my "fight" with Yuma.

Yuma walks by and he and I lock eyes for a sec before we both huff and look the other way, this continues throughout the day, when we bump into each other leaving/entering the class room, at Duel Time, and various other times throughout the day.

-Zexal-

"I can't believe it's been three days." I mutter to myself as I clench the Regnant's symbol in my hand, "I just with Yuma realized the danger he had put Astral in with his recklessness." I mutter to myself.

I closed my eyes and briefly let my mind flash back to the events that Yuma and I had gone through in the 2 years I knew him. He was reckless and made me worry, but what are little brothers for?

"Enough of this." I say clenching the Symbol tighter as I hop off the ledge of I was sitting on and land on my feet on the ground, "I'm going to try and patch things up with Yuma." I say walking off to find him.

-Zexal—

Later that evening I found Yuma and Kotori in the circle garden.

"Apology!?" Yuma questions Kotori.

"But if neither side is willing to apologize." Kotori tells Yuma

I smiled internally, that's my Koto always trying to maintain peace.

"Hmpf, After all it's his fault!" Yuma complains.

"You're not all innocent either." I mentally remark.

Yuma begins to run off as Astral floats down in front of him.

"Yuma, do you really think it's OK if things continue like this?" Astral questions Yuma.

"Huh?" Yuma questions as he turns his back to Astral.

"As brothers, isn't is necessary to communicate and share your thoughts?" Astral inquires of Yuma as I walk up to Yuma slowly.

"Brothers?" Yuma questions Astral before turning around and pointing, "Ventus is not my brother anymore." But he ends up pointing directly at me.

I gasped in hurt shock at those words.

Yuma gives off a choking sound of shock, "Aww n-no…" he stammers out in shock at a loss for words.

"Geez." Kotori mutters putting her hand to her face.

"I see." I mutter softly and turn and start to walk off.

"Ven!" Yuma tells out grasping my shoulder.

My emotions snap at the contact and I lash out hitting Yuma knocking him back and sending the Emperor's Key flying off a bit.

I blink once the flash of red passes by, "Sorry Yuma, I don't know what came over me" I apologize with my head hanging down as Kotori goes and picks up the Emperor's Key.

"I-It's alright" Yuma answers as a black slime begins pouring from his deck case.

Yuma and I look at the slime in curiosity as it begins latching onto Astral

"What it…this?" Astral questions as he begins gasping in pain from electrical shocks coursing through his body.

Astral!" Yuma and I yell out in worry.

"What's going on?" Kotori questions as she walks over to Yuma and I holding the Key.

"I don't know." I say watching the events that are unfolding closely.

"You are Number 96!" Astral says to someone else.

"I was right?" I mentally comment with a blink.

"What are you saying there?" Yuma questions Astral.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time." A disembodied voice says and Astral's arms are stretched to the side like a marionette. "The moment I possess your body and become complete!" "Destroy! Destroy everything!" the voice chants out.

Astral lets out a scream as dark tentacles burst from his body and launch at Yuma.

YUMA!" I yell out as I tackle him out of the way.

"V-Ven!" Yuma yells out in shock as the tentacles wrap around my body, lifting me into the air.

"This feels really weird." I complain.

"VEN!" Yuma and Kotori yell out in worry.

"Let me Go!" I try to order the being holding me.

"It's useless, you can't run anywhere!" Number 96 tells me.

"V-Ven, Why did you take the blow for Yuma?" Astral questions weakly.

I smile, "Because… he may be annoying and a huge pain in my ass, but he's my brother I tell him." As I grab my deck case, "Don't worry we'll free you I tell him." Before throwing my deck case at Kotori, "Kotori." I call out in warning as she catches it.

Astral yells out as he is pulled into an abyss.

"ASTRAL!" I call in worry.

"Now I've become the strongest of Numbers!" Number 96 brags with a chuckle.

-Zexal-

"You… you bastard, how dare you do that to Astral and Ven!" Yuma yells at Number 96

"Now, now brats don't get to speak." 96 scolds Yuma, "Now that I have Astral and his Numbers I have no need for you." He tells Yuma.

"Tchh" Yuma growls out.

"Hold IT!" Kotori yells out.

"Hmm?" Number 96 hums in question as we all look at Kotori.

Kotori wordlessly opens my deck box I had thrown to her and pulls out five cards and shows them to Number 96.

I saw that the cards were, Numbers 49, 50, 22, 91, and 27.

"Numbers?!" Number 96 and Yuma gasp out in shock.

"Ven why didn't you tell me you had Numbers." Yuma questions me.

"You didn't ask." I tell him in a flat tone.

Number 96 gives me a look of interest before turning to Kotori, "Oi girl give me the Numbers." He demands as he launches his arm at her.

The Emperor's Key glows and erects a barrier around Kotori.

Number 96 gives off a Tch as he retracts his hand.

"I had no Idea the Key could do that." Yuma comments about the barrier.

"You Bitch!" Number 96 hisses out.

I twitch my hand a bit and manage to grab onto one of the tentacles grabbing me and squeeze hard.

"NEVER, call my girlfriend that word." I hiss out before letting go.

"If you want these Numbers that badly, then get it by defeating me in a duel!" Kotori challenges Number 96.

"Ehh?!" Yuma questions in shock, "Kotori maybe I should duel, you've never dueled before." He tries to tell Kotori.

Kotori smirks at Yuma, "I've had lessons from the best." She tells Yuma.

"I'm flattered." I say in mock flattery.

"Duel you say?" Number 96 questions

"No, Kotori this guy is very dangerous, you should run." Yuma pleads with Kotori.

"And leave my boyfriend to his mercy?!" Kotori snaps at Yuma, "I think not."

"But…." Yuma weakly protests.

"If you were in Ven's situation, would he run away and abandon you." Kotori questions Yuma.

Yuma stands there silently.

"Interesting, I will be your opponent." Number 96 says as he drops me flat on my face.

"Hello Floor." I mutter before standing up.

"Don't worry Ven, I'll save you." Kotori says as she pulls three cards from my deck case and adds them to hers.

I give her a nod, showing my faith in her words.

"**Duel Disk – Set**!" Number 96 and Kotori yell out as my Duel Disk is activated and Kotori activates the Custom duel disk I gave her, its D-pad body was shaped like a beak and had a yellow coloring and the monster zones consisted of two overlapping white wings.

"**D-Gazer-Set**!" They both yell out as Kotori and I put on our D-Gazers.

AR-VISION, LINK ESTABLISHED" The computer chirps out as the AR turns on.

"DUEL!" Number 96 and Kotori yell out. (**Number 96: 4000**) (**Kotori**: **4000**)

"You have no freedom, my servant." Number 96 tells me.

"I'm going first." Kotori announces, My Turn Draw!" she yells out as she draws her card. "First I activate the Spell Card, **Little Garden**." She says as she places the card into her duel disk, "Due to this card's effect I add a "Little" monster from my deck to my hand." She explains as a card pops out of her deck and she shows Little Fairy to Number 96.

"Interesting." Number 96 comments dismissively.

"Next I summon the Little Fairy I added to my hand." She announces placing the monster onto her D-Pad as a small fairy appears from the card and lands on her wrist. (**Little Fairy, Level 3, 1400 ATK**)

"Next I activate Little Fairy's effect." Kotori announces placing a card from her hand into the graveyard, "By discarding one card I can raise this card's level by 1. (**Level 3 – 4**) "Next I activate the effect of **Little Sprout** that was just sent to the graveyard." She announces as the Graveyard Portal opens, "If this card is sent to the Graveyard by the effect of a "Little" Monster I can Special Summon it." She explains as a bulb like monster comes out of it. (**Little Bulb, Level 1, 500 Atk**)

"I can't believe Kotori got so good in a short amount of time." Yuma comments.

"Next I activate Little Sprout's other effect." Kotori announces, "Once per turn I can target a face up "Little" Monster I control and this card's Level becomes the same as the targeted Monster." She announces as Sprout begins to glow, "I target the Level 4 Little Fairy and Make its Level 4." She explains as Sprout morphs into a plant like copy of Little Fairy.

"Two Level 4 Monster's" I hear Number 96 comment offhandedly.

"I Overlay my Level 4 Little Fairy and Little Sprout." Kotori announces as her two monsters enter the Overlay Network. "With these two Level 4 Monsters I construct the Overlay Network." She chants out as the two monsters fully enter the network and it explodes out in creation, "Xyz Summon, Cheer Rank 4 Fairy Cheer Girl!" she calls out as the Cheering Xyz Appears." (**Fairy Cheer Girl, Rank 4, 1900 Atk**)

"Next I activate Fairy Cheer Girl's Monster Effect." Kotori announces as an Overlay Unit is absorbed into Cheer Girl's Pom Pom's and she does a little dance, "By detaching an Overlay Unit I can draw a card." She explains as the top card of her deck glows and she draws it, she looks at the card for a moment before adding it to her hand, "I equip Fairy Cheer Girl with **Fairy Ring**" she announces placing the card in her spell and trap card zone as a ring appears in front of Cheer Girl. "Turn End." She finishes placing her arms at her side.

"Interesting, you may be a fun challenge for the strongest after all." Number 96 says in a mocking tone, "My Turn, Draw!" He announces as my hands move unwillingly and draw the card. "First I summon Malicevorous Spoon." He announces as my hand grabs a card and places it on the Duel Disk, an evil looking creature wielding a spoon appears on the field. (**Malicevorous Spoon, Level 2. 100 ATK**)

"I am getting the weirdest feeling of Déjà vu." I comment offhandedly at the sight of Number 96 using Malicevorous to face Kotori.

"Next by Sending a Fiend type monster to the Graveyard." Number 96 announces as I place a card from the hand to the graveyard, "I can summon Malicevorous Fork." He announces as I grab a different card from my hand and place it onto the duel disk and a monster wielding a fork comes out this time, (**Malicevorous Fork, Level 2, 400 ATK**) "Next I activate the effect of Malicevorous Spoon." He announces as the spoon wielding monster glows slightly, "When a Malicevorous monster other than Spoon is summoned I can summon a Level 2 fiend from my Graveyard." He announces.

"Ehh, but there isn't any monsters in your grave." Yuma questions in confusion.

Kotori gives off a sigh, "The card he discarded to summon the Malicevorous Fork Yuma." she says in a tone as if speaking to a slow child.

"Ohh…" Yuma says in a still lost tone.

"Come out, Malicevorous Knife!" Number 96 calls out bringing attention back to the duel, the Knife wielding fiend appears on the field, (**Malicevorous Knife, Level 2, 600 ATK**)

"Three Level 2 Monsters." I comment to myself remembering how the Holder had summoned Number 96.

"Is it coming?" Kotori questions silently.

"I Overlay my 3 Level 2 Dark Monsters." Number 96 declares as the three monsters turn into dark colored overlay units and fly up into the air, "With these 3 Dark Level 2 monsters I construct the Overlay Network." He chants out as the galaxy style network opens up and the three monsters enter into it and the network explodes open, "Xyz Summon, Show yourself, my true form, Numbers 96, The messenger from the Pitch-Black Darkness, Black Mist" he calls out as a small black blob appears from the network and it morphs into a fiendish looking creature that was way different from what we had seen earlier. (**Number 96: Black Mist, Rank 2, 100 ATK**)

"Why is it different?!" Yuma questions in confusion.

"It's simple." I state with an eye roll, "If he can be sentient enough to think of a plan to get more Numbers, surely he can hide his true form." I say gesturing at Number 96 with my head.

"Correct my Servant." Number 96 says with an amused chuckle, "This is the real form of Black Mist." He informs the others.

HeiHeiHei, I chuckle to myself. I likes this guy's attitude I decides right then that I was gonna make him my partner after Kotori won the duel.

"I attack Fairy Cheer Girl with Black Mist!" Number 96 Declares

"Heh Heh, Attacking with a 100 attack point Monster, he must be giving up." Yuma says in a confident tone.

"Don't be naïve!" I snap at Yuma, be ready Kotori." I tell her.

Kotori nods and puts her duel disk in front of her in a ready stance.

"I activate the effect of Black Mist!" Number 96 announces as the monster version of him lets out a roar and an Overlay Unit flies into the mouth on its chest, "By detaching an Overlay Unit, the ATK of one of my opponent's monsters is halved, and that halved amount is added to my own attack points!" he explains as the monster form of Number 96 lets out a wind of darkness as Fairy Cheer Girl, "Shadow Gain!" he calls out. (**Fairy Cheer Girl: 1900 ATK – 950 ATK**) (**Number 96: Black Mist: 100 ATK – 1050 ATK**)

"So it can always be more powerful than any monster it battles." Kotori comments.

I smirked liking this guy and his card even more.

"That's right!" Number 96 tells Kotori confirming what she said earlier, "Go, Black Mist!" he orders his monster form, "Black Mirage Whip!" he yells out as various tentacles appear from the monster's body and viciously attack Fairy Cheer Girl.

"Due to Fairy Ring, Fairy Cheer Girl isn't destroyed by battle." Kotori announces as she gives off a hiss form being pushed back from the attack.

"But you still take damage." Number 96 reminds Kotori as she is sent flying by the attack.

"KOTORI!" Yuma yells out in concern.

Kotori stand's up and dusts herself off, "I'm fine, I couldn't call myself Ven's girlfriend and apprentice if I was taken out by a small thing like that." She tells Yuma as her life point meter falls. (**Kotori: 4000 – 3900**)

"I set two cards, and end my turn." Number 96 announces as my hand takes two cards and places them into the spell and trap card zone as they materialize face down.

"My turn, Draw!" Kotori yells out drawing her card, she looks at it for a second before slapping the drawn card onto her duel disk, "I summon Little Crane." She calls out as a bird with fairy like wings appears on the field, (**Little Crane, Level 3, 1000 ATK**), "When this card is Normal Summoned I can Special Summon a Little monster with 500 or less from my Graveyard, come back Little Sprout." She calls out as the Bulb monster appears form the Graveyard portal. "But the monster summoned from this effect has its effect negated." She explains.

"Why bring back that monster, you can't Xyz." Yuma questions.

I smirk, "Show em your power Kotori."

"Right" Kotori says with a smile as she gives a wave of her hand, "I tune my Level 1 Little Sprout with my Level 3 Little Crane." She announces as Sprout turns into a single ring, and Crane turns into three stars with an outline of Crane and the ring surrounds the outline."

"What is This?!" Number 96 questions in shock.

"Synchro Summon, Come forth, Level 4, **Fairy Ballerina**!" Kotori calls out as a monster that looks like Fairy Cheer girl in a ballerina outfit appears. (**Fairy Ballerina, Level 4, 1500 ATK**)

"Awesome Kotori." Yuma cheers at the unfamiliar summoning.

"Fairy Ballerina's effect." Kotori calls out as Ballerina dances a bit, "All Fairy Monsters gets + 500 ATK points as long as it remains face up on the field, (**Fairy Cheer Girl: 950 ATK – 1450 ATK**) (**Fairy Ballerina, 1500 ATK – 2000 ATK**) "From my hand I activate **Numbers Imprint**!" she announces holding up a card, "Until the end of this turn Fairy Cheer Girl is treated as a Number."

"What a Card that lets a monster gain the title of Number?" Number 96 questions in Shock.

"Battle!" Kotori yells out, "Go Fairy Cheer Girl, Attack Number 96." She orders the cheering Xyz.

"It seems you still don't understand the terror of Black Mist!" Number 96 comments with a grin. "I activate the effect of Black Mist!" he announces as Black Mist absorbs another Overlay Unit, "Shadow Gain!" he calls out as the Monster form of Black Mist lets out the dark miasma wind again and Fairy Cheer Girl falls down in a sick pain, (**Fairy Cheer Girl: 1450 ATK – 725 ATK**) (**Number 96: Black Mist: 1050 ATK – 1775 ATK**)

"Ehh, I thought Shadow Gain could only be used when he declared the attack." Yuma questions in confusion.

"Did you really think it was that simple?" I question in a deadpan tone.

"Go, Black Mist!" Number 96 orders his monster form, "Black Mirage Whip!"

"Fairy Cheer Girl isn't destroyed due to Fairy Ring." Kotori hisses out as she is pushed back a bit by the attack, (**Kotori: 3900 – 2850**)

"That's two." She comments under her breath.

"Hmm?" Number 96 questions before looking at his Monster form and smirking, "I see you're trying to get rid of Number 96's Overlay Units, so you can make a big attack." He comments, before grinning wider, "Do you honestly think it will work?" he asks in a rhetorical tone.

"We'll see won't we?" Kotori says in retort, "I activate Fairy Cheer Girl's effect." She calls out as the final Overlay Unit is absorbed into Fairy Cheer Girl's Pom Pom's. "I draw a card." She saws drawing her card, "I set two cards face down and end my turn." She announces as the two set cards materialize face down."

"You're doing great Kotori, you've far surpassed my training." I mentally comment with a smile.

"Ven….Ven….Ven" I hear a distant voice call.

"Astral?" I question in my mind.

"Ven, listen to me carefully, I have a plan to help Kotori defeat Number 96." Astral tells me.

"No." I reply mentally in a blunt tone.

"This isn't a joking matter." Astral says in a serious tone, "Kotori has never dueled before and won't be able to defeat Dark Mist, and if she loses you and I are lost forever." He counter argues.

"Just watch, Kotori has this match in the bag, plus as for not dueling, who do you think taught her?" I state mentally with a smirk.

Astral remains silent for a moment, "Fine I'll trust you Ven, you've never let me down before." He says pulling his consciousness away slightly.

"My Turn, Draw!" Number 96 calls out as I draw the Card, "'I Summon Malicevorous Knife!" He calls out as I place the card on the duel disk and the Knife wielding fiend appears on the field, "When Knife is Summoned I can Summon a Malicevorous Monster from my Graveyard." He announces as the Graveyard portal opens, "Revive Malicevorous Fork." He calls out as the fork wielding monster appears.

"I Overlay the Dark Level 2 Malicevorous Knife and Fork!" he calls out as the two monsters enter the Overlay Network, "With these 2 Level 2 Dark Monsters I build the Overlay Network" he chants as the red overlay network explodes into creation, "Xyz Summon, Malicevorous Demon Chef." He calls out as a demonic looking chef wielding a cleaver. (**Malicevorous Demon Chef, Rank 2, 1000 Def**)

"Another Xyz." Yuma comments

"I activate Malicevorous Chef's effect." Number 96 calls out as an Overlay Unit is absorbed into the cleaver of Malicevorous Chef and it slashes the air. "Once per turn, by detaching an Overlay Unit 1 face-up Rank 2 Monster can attack twice this turn, in exchange other face-up monsters I control cannot attack." He explains as his monster Black Mist gave off a roar.

"No Kotori!" Yuma yells out in worry.

I smiled, knowing that Kotori totally had everything in control.

"Battle, I attack Fairy Ballerina!" Number 96 calls out, "I activate the effect of Black Mist, Shadow Gain!" he calls out as it lets out the black Misma. (**Fairy Ballerina: 2000 ATK – 1000 ATK**) (**Number 96: Dark Mist: 1775 ATK – 2775 ATK**) "Black Mirage Whip!" he yells out as Ballerina is destroyed by the attack.

Kotori yells out as she is sent flying by the attack. (**Kotori: 2850 – 1075**)

"Kotori!" Yuma yells out in worry for her before angrily looking at me, "Why aren't you worried about Kotori isn't she your girlfriend." He snaps at me.

"Because she has it all under control." I say in a confident tone.

"Oh." Number 96 says in an amused tone, "I hope your faith isn't misplaced." He mocks "I attack your Cheer Girl with Number 96. "Black Mirage Whip!" he calls out as it launches its whips at Fairy Cheer Girl.

"Come on Kotori, I believe in you." I mutter under my breath.

"Quick Play Card activate." Kotori calls out as one of her set cards opens, "Forbidden Scripture." This card negates all other effects on the field and returns all attack values to their normal values and damage calculation applied with those values." She announces as Number 96 and Fairy Cheer Girl go back to Normal. (**Number 96 Black Mist: 2775 ATK – 100 ATK**) (**Fairy Cheer Girl: 725 ATK – 1900 ATK.**)

"Tchh Annoyance." Number 96 hisses out as the monster form of Number 96 is destroyed and he takes damage. (**Number 96: 4000 – 3200**)

"Alright you did it Kotori!" Yuma cheers out.

"At the end of the battle scripture's effect wears off." Kotori explains as the ring from Fairy Ring begins to glow again.

"You just made a big mistake little girl." Number 96 hisses in anger.

"Be careful Kotori." I warn her.

"Yeah." Kotori says with a nod.

"Trap Card Open!" Number 96 yells out, as one of his set cards flips open, "**Malicefestival**!" he announces, "When a Rank 2 Xyz Monster I control is destroyed by battle I can return that Monster to the Extra Deck." He explains as Number 96 pops out of the Graveyard and I place it back into the extra deck area, "Then I can summon from my graveyard as many Malicevorous Monsters with different names." He says as the Graveyard Portal opens up and the Knife, Fork, and Spoon wielding Monsters appear again.

"Oh no, now he can bring back Number 96 with all its strength." Yuma comments.

"You should have followed my plan Ven, now Kotori is going to lose." Astral mentally scolds me.

"Why Wait?" Number 96 Questions. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell **Emergeny Network Construction**" he says as his other set card opens, "With this card I can summon an Xyz Monster!" he announces as the Overlay Network re opens.

"WHAT?!" Yuma, Kotori and I yell out in shock.

"Be reborn my True Self!" Number 96 calls out as the three monsters enter the Overlay Network and Number 96 appears on the field again.

"And it was annoying to take out the first time." Kotori mutters under her breath.

"You are very different when you Duel Kotori." Yuma comments about Kotori.

"Ven taught me how to push back my emotions when I duel." Kotori tells Yuma.

"But doesn't that take away from the fun?" Yuma questions Kotori.

Kotori doesn't answer Yuma but turns back to Number 96.

"And since we are still in the battle phase my doppelganger can still attack." Number 96 reminds us, "Go Black Mist, and I activate Black Mist's effect Shadow Gain." He declares as Black Mist's monster form absorbs an Overlay Unit. (**Fairy Cheer Girl: 1900 ATK – 950 ATK**) (**Number 96 Dark Mist: 100 ATK – 1050 ATK**) "Black Mirage Whip!" he yells out as Fairy Cheer Girl is viciously attacked by the whips.

Kotori gives off a hiss from the damage. (**Kotori: 1075 – 975**)

"Kotori." I mentally mutter in worry.

"I set one card and end my turn." Number 96 says in a confident tone as my hand sets the card.

"My Turn, Draw!" Kotori yells out drawing her card.

"It's over!" Number 96 yells with a Maniacal Laugh, "Trap Card Open **Shadow Burst**" he says as his set card flips open, "If I control Number 96 Black Mist and it's attack points are higher then it's original I can inflict damage to you equal to the difference between its current attack points and it's original" He explains as the card gives of a dark wind, "With this you take 950 life points, further more I can banish this card from my Graveyard to Inflict 100 points of Damage to you." He explains.

"Oh no, if this goes through Kotori is finished." Yuma comments in worry.

"From my Hand I activate the effect of Hanewata." Kotori announces as she pushes a card into her Graveyard, "By sending this card to the Graveyard I negate Effect Damage." She announces as the spirit of the monster she discarded appears and takes the attack.

"Whew." Yuma breaths out.

Number 96 growls a bit, "I activate Shadow Burst's other effect. I remove it from play to deal 100 points of Damage." He announces as the Graveyard Portal opens and the trap card appears out of it and launches a blast at Kotori.

Kotori shields herself with her arms as her life goes down a bit. (**Kotori: 975 – 875**)

"I Summon **Little Lizard**" Kotori announces as she places the card onto her duel disk, (**Little Lizard, Level 4, 1700 Atk**) "When Little Lizard is used for an Xyz Summon it is treated as two Overlay Units." She announces.

"A monster treated at two Overlay Units?" Yuma questions.

"I Overlay the Level 4 Little Lizard treated as two Overlay Units." Kotori calls out as the Overlay Network opens and the monster enters it. "With this one Level 4 Monster treated as two I Construct the Overlay Network." She calls out, "Fangs of deepest darkness, rise up against this foolish oppression! Now, descend! Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" she calls out as my Ace Dragon appears on her field. (**Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Rank 4, 2500 ATK**)

"Dark Rebellion." Yuma chees out.

"Go Kotori, Show them our Power!" I tell her.

"Yeah." Kotori says with a nod.

"Power?" Yuma mutters in confusion.

"What are you going on about?" I hear Astral Mentally question.

"What are you hiding my Servant?" Number 96 mutters to myself.

Kotori throws her hand into the air, "I Overlay the Rank 4 Fairy Cheer Girl and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon." She calls out as the two Xyz Monsters Turn into Overlay Units and shoot up into the sky.

"WHAT?!" Number 96 questions in shock.

"An Xyz Summon using Xyz Monsters as Overlay Units?" Yuma questions in shock.

"With These two Xyz Monsters I construct a new Overlay Network!" Kotori chants out as the two Xyz's enter the Overlay Network in the sky and it explodes into creation, "Light of the Skies, Darkness in the soul, when these two powers intersect the true power of χ shall rise, Xyz Summon, A new Generation, Rank 0 Numbers NΔ: Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon!" she calls out as the Monster created by our bonds descends onto the field. (**Numbers NΔ: Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon, Rank 0, 2500 ATK**)

"W-What is this Number?" Number 96 questions in shock as he floats backwards a bit.

"Amazing." Yuma mutters under his breath.

"I had no idea something like this existed." I hear Astral mentally comment.

"I Activate Dragoon's Effect." Kotori announces as an Overlay Unit is absorbed into one the Dragon Fairy's Chest, "I draw a Card and Reveal it." She says as she draws a card and shows a Magic Card. Kotori gives off a hiss.

"Sounds like you didn't get what you wanted." Number 96 Mocks.

"Once More!" Kotori yells out as she draws again this time drawing a Trap, she grits her teeth a bit, "I detach the final Overlay Unit." She calls out as the third and final Overlay Unit is absorbed into the Dragon

"Come on Kotori you can do it." I assure her.

Kotori nods and Puts her hand on the card and Grips it. "Please." She whispers before drawing the card, she slowly turns the card around and smiles. "I drew the Monster Card Honest!" she announces showing the Monster, "Fairy Cheer Dragoon's Monster Effect!" she calls out and Dragoon begins to do a hypnotic Dance, "If I draw a Monster Card with his effect one of your monsters loses ATK equal to the ATK of the drawn Monster. "Demons Curse"

"What?!" Number 96 yells out in shock.

"Honest has 1900 ATK so you lose that much." Kotori explains as Number 96's monster self falls to the ground on one knee. (**Number 96 Black Mist: 1050 ATK – 0 ATK**) "Then Fairy Cheer Dragoon gains ATK equal to the amount your Monster Lost." Kotori explains as Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon gives off a roar and increases in size. (**Fairy Cheer Dragoon: 2500 ATK -3550 ATK**)

"Go Kotori!" I cheer with a grin.

"Battle!" Kotori yells out, "Go Fairy Cheer Dragoon." She yells out as the Dragon attacks Black Mist.

"If I'm going I'm taking you with me!" Number 96 yells out in a frenzy. "Black Mist's Monster Effect!" he yells out as his monster form absorbs an Overlay Unit, "Shadow Gain!" He yells out. (**Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon: 3550 ATK -1775 ATK**) (**Number 96 Dark Mist: 0 ATK – 1775 ATK**) "Disappear you Fake, Black Mirage Whip!" he yells out

"I activate Honest's Effect." Kotori announces placing the card into her graveyard, "When a Light attribute battles an opponent's monster by sending this card to the graveyard the battling monster gains ATK equal to the battling opponent's monster!" she announces as two angel like wings appear on Fairy Cheer Dragoon and it gives off a dominating Roar. (**Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon: 1775 ATK – 3550 ATK**)

"You'll pay for that!" Number 96 growls as his Monster self is destroyed once again and his life falls. (**Number 96: 3200 – 1425**)

"You'll pay for this defilement of the strongest with your life next turn." Number 96 tells Kotori.

"There won't BE a Next turn." Kotori tells Number 96.

"What?" Number 96 hisses out in confusion.

"Trap Card Open!" Kotori calls out as her other set card flips open, "Miracle Lotus." She calls out when it flips open fully, "Sure this may let you draw a card but in exchange my monster gains 1000 ATK and can attack again." She tells Number 96.

"It doesn't matter if you can attack again, I still have the defense position demon chef to keep me safe." Number 96 taunts Kotori

"Is that so?" Kotori questions before grabbing a spell from her hand and slapping it into her duel disk, "**Sharpening Claws**" she says as the card materiales on the field, "When a monster makes a second attack it gains the ability to inflict piercing damage

"Im-Impossible! Impossible!" Number 96 yells out franticly realizing he is about to lose.

"Go Fairy Cheer Dragoon!" Kotori orders the Neo Numbers, Attack Malicevorous Demon Chef and free our other half." She tells the dragon as it lets out a roar.

"REVOLUTION OF THE HEAVENS!" I yell with Kotori as it attacks the Malicevorous Xyz sending Number 96 flying back.

"Auggghhhhhhh!" Number 96 yells out as his last bit of life points are wiped out, (**Number 96: 1425 – 0**) (**Kotori: WIN!**)

"Impossible, I was…" Number 96 mutters in disbelief

"VEN!" Kotori yells out as she tosses the Emperor's Key.

"Got it!" I yell as I catch it and it glows, I see Astral appear in the air. I quickly jump back a bit and throw out my hand and the Regnant's Symbol glows.

Number 96 gives off a scream as I absorb him as his card appears in my hand.

Astral floats down to me, "Ventus give me that card he is too dangerous"

"No." I say taking my deck case back from Kotori and placing Number 96 in it.

"This isn't a joking matter." Astral says almost snapping.

"Never said it was." I say with a shrug, "Plus I like that guys attitude Yuma's got you for a partner, so I'm gonna make this guy mine." I tell Astral with a smirk.

Astral looks at me for a bit, "Are you sure you can tame him." He questions.

I smirk, "he's nothing more than a problem child." I tell Astral, "Plus…" I say wrapping my arm around Kotori, "If I fall to the Darkness I know Kotori will be there to bring me back."

"You prat." Kotori says with a grin and she hits me on the arm before kissing my cheek.

-Zexal-

Later that night I was sitting on my bed holding Number 96's card. Now how do I get him to come out?" I question to myself as I knock on the card a bit.

The card glows a bit and Number 96 comes out of it.

"Heh, Heh I got free a lot easier than I thought I would." Number 96 chuckles before pausing and looking around realizing where he was. "What are you doing with my Card?" He questions me.

I twirl his card on my finger, "I'm going to offer you a partnership."

"Partnership?" Number 96 questions with a raised eyebrow, or what was the equivalent for him.

"Simple, I like you, you interest me and your powers are awesome." I say with a smirk.

"Of course that is the power of the Strongest." Number 96 says with a grin.

I pulls out my 5 Numbers, "My deal is this, you want to obtain Numbers and I want to use your powers, you lend me your powers in a partnership, and you can access to all the Numbers I control as well as any Numbers I obtain in a future." I explain to Number 96 holding out my hand, "Do we have a deal."

Number 96 looks at me for a bit, "Deal!" he says with a grin taking my hand as the mark of Number 96 appears on my neck at the collar right above my heart.

-Zexal-

Hope you all Enjoyed Kotori's first duel, and my first attempt at making an actual archetype of cards.

**OC Cards:**

**Little Garden, Spell - Normal: Add 1 Little Monster from your Deck to your hand.**

**Little Sprout, Monster, Effect, Level 1, Tuner, Light, Plant. 100 ATK, 100 DEF: If this card is sent to the graveyard by the effect of a Little monster you can special summon it. You can Target 1 face up Little monster you control, this cards Level becomes the same as the targeted monster. You can only use each effect of Little Sprout Once Per Turn.**

**Little Crane, Monster, Effect, Level 3, Light, Winged - Beast. 1000 ATK, 500 DEF: When this card is Normal Summoned, Target 1 Little Monster with 500 or Less attack from your graveyard and Special Summon it, the monster summoned by this effect has it's effect negated.**

**Fairy Ring, Spell, Equip: Destroy this Card if you don't control a face-up fairy type monster. Once Per Turn the equipped monster cannot be destroyed by battle.**

**Number Imprint, Spell, Quick play: Target 1 Face up Xyz Monster you Control, it's name is treated as Number until the End of the Turn.**

**Fairy Ballerina, Monster, Effect, Level 4 Light, Fairy, Synchro, 1500 ATK, 1000 DEF: "1 Little Tuner Monster + 1 or More non tuner fairy type mosnters" All face up Fairy type monsters gain 500 ATK.**

**Malicevorous Demon Chef, Monster, Effect, Rank 2, Dark, Fiend, 0 ATK, 1000 DEf: "2 Level 2 Malicevorous Monsters" Once Per Turn you can detach an Xyz Material; Target 1 Face-Up Rank 2 Monster you Control, it can make an additional Attack this turn, other face up Monster's you control cannot Attack this Turn.**

**Malicefestival, Trap, Normal: Activate When a face up Rank 2 Xyz monster you control is destroyed by battle: Return the destroyed monster to the Extra Deck, then Special Summon as many Malicevorous monsters from your Graveyard with different names as possible. their effects are negated and they are banished at the end of the turn they are summoned.**

**Emergency Network Construction, Spell, Quick-Play: Summon an Xyz Monster using appropriate materials from your side of the field.**

**Shadow Burst, Trap, Normal: Activate only if you control a face up Number 96 Black Mist; Inflict Damage to your opponent equal to the difference between it's current ATK and it's original ATK. You can banish this card from your graveyard, Inflict 100 points of damage to your opponent.**

**Little Lizard, Monster, Effect, Level 4, Light, Reptile, 1700 ATK, 900 DEF: This card can be treated at 2 Materials for the Xyz Summon of an Xyz Monster. (TCG: When this card is Normal Summoned you can special summon another copy of Little Lizard from your deck. You cannot Summon monsters from the Extra Deck the turn you activate this effect)**

**Sharpening Claws, Spell, Quick-play: Activate when a face up monster you control makes a second attack; it gains the ability to inflict piercing damage until the end of the damage step. **


	21. Chapter 20: Protect the Treasured Key

**AN: I fixed up a minor mistake in Chapter 19**

**Chapter 20: Protect the Treasured Key, The Number Hunter Returns**

(Third POV)

In a clearing of a meadow a small house with a giant oak tree beside it with a swing dangling from tree is seen where a young boy with silver hair is resting on a bed, the Number Hunter Kaito is seen offering a cup of hot chocolate to the child.

"Here, your favorite hot chocolate." Kaito tells the young boy

"Where are we?" the boy asks Kaito in a distant tone

"Can't you remember?" Kaito asks the child, "We've been living inside this house since we were little." He tells the boy.

"I see, I can't remember a thing." The boy tells Kaito.

"You used to laugh a lot back then." Kaito tells the boy, "You were quite talkative and you loved to joke." He tells the boy in remembrance.

Kaito looks at the boy for a little bit, "Haruto." He says in concern before turning and gritting his teeth in anger, "The one who made you this way." He mutters to himself.

The world goes fuzzy for a moment before the AR that was active is turned off revealing Haruto and Kaito to be in a room of Heartland Tower.

The floor glows for a second as a man in a green suit show up, he is known as Mr. Heartland the benevolent mayor of Heartland City.

"Did I bother you guys?" Mr. Heartland questions the Tenjo brothers, "Alright Haruto, time to get to work." He tells the bed ridden younger brother.

Kaito stands up and looks at Mr. Heartland, "Mr. Heartland, Haruto collapsed due to exhaustion from overusing his ability, if we continue to use Haruto's power like that…" He warns Mr. Heartland.

"Kaito, this is an order from Dr. Faker-sama." Mr. Heartland tells Kaito in a warning tone.

"But…" Kaito protests.

"I don't like it…" Haruto interrupts making Kaito look at him.

"I don't like you when you're not considerate of others." Haruto tells Kaito getting out of bed.

"Haruto." Kaito says in worry.

"I am fine with it." Haruto tells Kaito, "If my power can contribute something to this world, then there's no need to worry about me."

"Haruto…" Kaito mutters again.

"Fantastic, Haruto!" Mr. Heartland says with a cheer as Haruto stands up from the bed. "Dr. Faker-sama must be proud as well." He tells the young boy.

Mr. Heartland and Haruto walk over to the lift in the room.

"Kaito, if you really wish to cure Haruto, then you should hurry up and collect all the Numbers." Mr. Heartland warns Kaito as the lift activates and lowers him and Haruto out of the room.

-Zexal-

(Ven POV)

I was sitting in my room working on my deck to incorporate a way to best work with my new partner, Black Mist was currently floating above me watching my deck building with a critical eye but remaining silent,

"EHHH!" Yuma yells out in shock as the room shakes slightly from the impact.

"Better go see what happened." I tell Black Mist as I climb the rope ladder, but Mist doesn't follow, I get the feeling he's wary about Astral for the time being.

"What happened?" I ask as I stick my head in the room.

"Astral just said there was a spaceship inside the Emperor's Key!" Yuma tells me in a freaked out tone.

"Really?" I question with a tilt of my head.

"Yeah." Astral says in confirmation.

"Inside such a small key?" Yuma questions.

"Maybe it's Bigger on the Inside" I joke lightly

"That is a logical conclusion Ven, it does seem like a Pocket Dimension in the key, in fact it seems this key is not something that belongs to this world." Astral muses, "There are many hidden secrets inside your father's key." He tells Yuma.

"When can that spaceship fly?" Yuma asks Astral

"There is a huge puzzle inside the spaceship's construction." Astral tells us.

"Ohh I like Puzzles." I say in an almost giddy voice, out of the corner of my eye I see Number 96 roll his eyes.

"We need the Numbers in order to solve this puzzle." Astral tells us.

I nod in understanding.

"I'm afraid when all the Numbers are collected, that space ship will…" Astral says in musing concern.

"Numbers…" Yuma mutters looking at the Key

I put my hand around Astral and Yuma, "It will be alright" I tell them with a confident tone before looking at Yuma, "Bring it to 'em, Right?" I ask Yuma.

"Yeah." Yuma says with a grin, "I'm gonna hit the hay, night Ven." He says getting into his hammock.

"Night Toma." I say back.

"It's Yuma." Yuma says with a smile as he closes his eyes.

I start to go back down stairs.

"Ven." Astral calls out

"Hmm?" I question as I stop and look at him.

"Has Number 96 been giving you problems?" Astral questions me.

I look down at Black Mist for a sec before turning to Astral, bit of a silent treatment, but other than that No problems, like I said he's just a problem child." I say with a grin.

"Alright." Astral says with a nod, "Goodnight Ven." He says as he retires to the Key.

"Night." I reply going back down to my room.

-Zexal-

(3RD POV)

In a lab at the pier of Heartland City Kaito walks into the computer room, "Orbital, we will resume the Numbers Hunt." Kaito calls out to Orbital, he walks up to the computer only to find his robot companion Orbital 7 snoozing.

"Explain the current circumstances to me." Kaito orders not yet realizing the robot is asleep.

"Orbital." Kaito calls out trying to get a response, when that doesn't work he puts some anger into his voice, "Orbital Seven!"

"Un…Understood!" Orbital 7 yells out waking up in a panic and stretching his neck before turning to see Kaito, "K-Kaito-sama!" the robot stammers out.

"You little…" Kaito curses at the robot, "How's the data analysis for the Duelists holding Numbers going?" he questions Orbital

"Eh.. That? Well…" Orbital stammers lowering his head in shame.

"I hate incompetence the most…" Kaito warns Orbital, "Are you incompetent?" he questions the robot.

"Un-Understood, please don't beat me into scraps, that's my only request!" Orbital yells in a panic as he begins working in a frenzy

"Search for the Original Numbers and his protector." Kaito orders Orbital 7

"Original and Protector?" Orbital questions.

"Yeah, Dr. Faker said that the Numbers carried along with them a messenger to this world." Kaito explains to Orbital, "That person, the Original, must have attached himself to someone's body." He explains And the Original choose a Human to protect his vessel and the Numbers as well."

"Original….Protector?" Orbital questions to himself as if realizing something, before yelling in shock, "Then Kaito-sama, I may have found something that will interest you." He tells Kaito before working on the Computer, "This is that strange pendant, from the Numbers Duelist Yuma Tsukumo, whom we battled a few days ago." He informs Kaito pulling up an image of the Emperor's Key,

"What is this?" Kaito questions.

"It's not something that belongs to this world." Orbital informs Kaito, "Furthermore the Pendant that was worn by his brother Ven looks similar to the pendant worn by Yuma and bears similar energies." He says pulling up a picture of the Regnant's Symbol beside the Key.

"What, the Duelists from before?" Kaito questions in shock, "Alright, hurry and gather more data about those two!" he orders Orbital as he begins leaving.

"Un..Understood!" Orbital calls to Kaito's retreating Form.

"Yuma and Ven Tsukumo, huh? Kaito thinks to himself.

-Zexal-

(Ven Pov)

"Crap I'm really late!" I yell out in a panic as I tore into the boys locker room, we had swimming for gym and I was finishing up a project for another class and ended up being late, I grabbed my shirt to take it off when I stopped noticing I wasn't alone. "Isn't that?" I question to myself recognizing the robot I saw with Kaito the Number Hunter, Orbital 7 I think his name was

'Then I will receive it." Orbital 7 says reaching into a locker he opened, "Mission complete!" he says grabbing what I see is Yuma's Pendant.

"Why does he want the Pendant?" I mentally question, before I run up to the robot and snatch if from him.

"What are you doing tin can?" I ask Orbital

"Tin can?!" Orbital stammers, "Give those pendants to me." he tries to demand, "Otherwise I will become scrap!"

"I care why?" I say as I wrap the cord on the key around my wrist, "You're so annoying!" I yell at Orbital's whining and kick him into the wall.

"Nice one…" Orbital groans out

I raise my eyebrow in curiosity

"In that case, I will definitely make you give me those pendants!" Orbital says as he transforms into a form with a giant drill, "Let's see who will become scrap in the end!" he says as he completes the transformation

"That's new." I mutter under my breath.

"I will exterminate you!" Orbital yells at me as he attacks.

"Crap." I yell as I dodge out of the way and run out of the locker room, Orbital right behind me.

"Since Orbital is here Kaito can't be far behind" I think to myself as Orbital chasees after me, "So..." I say to myself as I turn and enter the girl's locker room, "Please be Empty!" I pray mentally as I run into the locker room finding it empty, "Good." I sight before straining my ears. "Where are you?" I mentally beg before hearing a tweeting sound, "There you are!" I grin running up to a locker.

"Nowhere to run now" Orbital says as he corners me with my back to the locker I went form.

I got into a ready stance.

"Die!" Orbital states as he attacks me, I duck at the last second so the drill breaks open the locker.

"I was right." I say recognizing Kotori's cloths in the locker, I discreetly detached the deck box from my waist with the Numbers in it and push them so their hidden in her cloths, "Come on bolt brain that all you got!" I taunt Orbital as I run out of the locker room getting him to follow me again.

"Stop running away!" Orbital calls after me.

-Zexal-

After a while of running I ended up on the room, "Did I lose him?" I question not being able to see him.

The ground behind me breaks open as Orbital erupts from it, "Gimme that pendant!" Orbital 7 orders and he attacks again.

"Tchh annoyance!" I hiss as I throw out my hand to stop the attack.

"That's enough, Orbital!" Kaito's voice calls out.

Orbital's drill stops just short of my out stretched hand.

"Kaito-sama!" Orbital calls out.

"Would you mind handing me the pendants you're holding?" Kaito asks me.

"You've got to be kidding!" I mock reply to Kaito, "It's not like they belong to you."

"I'm aware, it belongs to your brother Yuma." Kaito tells me.

I give him a mock clap, "You did your homework, congrats."

"Since I met you when I was dueling Yuma for his Numbers, I know you have them as well." Kaito states.

"And…" I say raising an eyebrow.

"I shall hunt for you Hunters and obtain those pendants" Kaito says with a fist clench, "Orbital activate the field."

"Un-Understood." Orbital says with a salute.

Crap if they use the field, they'll find I don't have the Numbers with me, "Don't bother" I tell Orbital.

Orbital gives me a look.

"I never run away from a battle!" I say walking toward Kaito, "and if you stop time, you're alerting him to your presence." I remind him.

"Very well." Kaito says as he wave Orbital off.

"Let's Go!" I yell out pulling my duel disk from my pocket and sliding it onto my wrist and activating it, "Duel Disk Set!" I yell out.

"Duel Mode, Photon Change!" Kaito yells out as his outfit turns white.

"D-Gazer Set!" I yell out placing my D-Gazer on my eye as a tattoo appears around Kaito's eye and his eye changes color.

"That is pretty cool." I mutter to myself about the tattoo.

"Now, offer me your soul!" Kaito says in a battle cry

I hung the key around my neck along with the Symbol as the AR built up.

"AR VISION – Link established." The automated voice chirped out.

"DUEL!" Kaito and I yelled out, (**Kaito: 4000**) (**Ventus: 4000**)

"I'm going first!" I tell Kaito, "My Turn, Draw!" I yell out drawing my card and placing it into my hand, "First I activate the Galaxy Wave and Wind-Up Factory Continuous Spells." I announce as I place the spells into the duel disk and they materialize on the field.

"Oh, so you might be a better duelist then what Yuma showed after all." Kaito says mockingly.

I ignore his jab, "I summon Wind-Up Rabbit!" I say as I place the card onto the duel disk and the red toy rabbit appears on the field. (**Wind-Up Rabbit, Level 3, 1400 ATK.**) "Next, since a Wind-Up Monster was summoned I can Summon Wind-Up Shark from my hand by revealing it." I explain as I reveal a card from my hand and place it onto the duel disk. (**Wind-Up Shark, Level 4, 1500 ATK**) "And since a Wind-Up effect was activated Factory kicks in letting me add a Wind-Up monster from my deck to my hand." I explain as a card pops out of my deck, "I add Wind-Up Magician." I say showing the card and adding it to my hand.

Kaito's Galaxy Eyes was formidable but I hoped I had a plan to defeat it, "I activate Wind-Up Shark's effect!" I declare throwing my hand into the air, "Once per turn this card can raise or lower its level by 1." I explain, "I lower its level to 3." (**Shark: Level 4-3**)

"Two Level Three Monsters, is it coming?" Kaito questions.

"I Overlay the Level 3 Wind-Up Shark and Rabbit!" I announce as the monsters enter the Overlay Network, "Xyz Summon, Advance forth Rank 3 Wind-Up Zenmaines!" I call out as my Xyz appears from the Overlay network. (**Wind-Up Zenmaines, Rank 3, 2100 Def**)

"Ehh, not a Numbers?" Orbital questions.

"I may Hunt the Numbers but I don't use them." I explain before pointing at Kaito, "Galaxy Wave's effect, when I Xyz Summon you take 500 points of Damage!" I tell him

"Kaito-Sama!" Orbital calls out as Kaito is blasted by star energy (**Kaito: 4000 - 3500**

"Be Quiet!" he yells at Orbital.

"I set one card and end my turn!" I say as my set card materializes face down.

"My turn, Draw!" Kaito yells out as a purple energy is emitted from his draw, he adds the new card to his hand before grabbing another. "I Special Summon Photon Trasher!" he announces as he places a monster on his duel disk and the monster appears in a flurry of slashes, (**Photon Slasher, Level 4, 2100 ATK**) "Next I Normal Summon Photon Crusher" he says as a monster wielding a mallet appears next to the sword wielder, (**Photon Crusher, Level 4, 2000 ATK**)

"Two Monsters with 2000 or more ATK", I mentally comment remembering what Yuma told me about Galaxy Eyes "Is it coming?"

"I Overlay my Level 4 Photon Thrasher and Crasher!" Kaito Declares.

"Not Galaxy Eyes?" I yell in slight shock.

"With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network." Kaito chants out, "Xyz Summon, Starliege Lord Galaxion!" he calls out as the knight monster appears out of the Network, (**Starliege Lord Galaxion, Rank 4, 2000 Atk**)

"A Galaxy Xyz?" I question to myself.

"Next I activate the Fusion Magic Card from my hand!" Kaito says holding up and old card.

"Woah, that's a classic." I comment offhandedly.

"I fuse the two Photon Lizards in my hand!" Kaito announces holding up the two materials, "By sending these small materials to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon the Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck!" Kaito explains, as a torrent erupts from the fusion card and the monster appears from within the tornado.

"Fusion Summon, show yourself, Twin Photon Lizard!" Kaito calls out as his monster descends. (**Twin Photon Lizard, Level 6, 2400 ATK**)

I smile to myself, "This guy is good, just what I was hoping for." I mentally state to myself

"I Activate Twin Photon Lizard's effect, by sending this card to the graveyard I can Summon its materials from the Graveyard." He explains as he releases Twin Photon Lizard and summons the two Photon Lizards from his graveyard. (**Photon Lizard, Level 3, 900 ATK**)

"I Activate Galaxion's effect!" Kaito declares, "By detaching 2 Xyz Materials I can Summon Galaxy Eyes from my deck ignoring the Summoning Conditions." He says as the Xyz Monster absorbs both Materials.

"What?!" I gasp in shock as such an effect.

A small shield like Icon appears next to Kaito, which he grabs and tosses into the air, "The Galaxy that lurks in the darkness, become the light of hope and my very servant. The embodiment of light, now descend, Appear Now, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" he calls out in a chant as the Dragon appears. (**Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, Level 8, 3000 ATk**)

"So your here." I say with a grin.

"I now Overlay my 2 Level 3 Photon Lizards." Kaito calls out as his two lizards enter the Overlay Network that opens in a Galaxy Style.

"Now it's the Numbers." I mutter to myself.

"With These 2 Level 3 Monsters I construct the Overlay Network!" Kaito Chants out, "Xyz Summon Come forth Number 30, Acid Golem of Destruction!" he calls out as a golem that is leading acid appears on his field, (**Number 30 Acid Golem of Destruction, Rank 3, 3000 ATK**)

"3000 ATK? Must have a high cost." I mutter to myself.

"I Activate the Spell Card Xyz Gift!" Kaito says placing the last card in his hand into his Duel Disk. "By removing 2 Xyz Materials from Acid Golem I draw 2 cards." He says as the Materials of Golem are absorbed into the spell and Kaito's deck glows as he draws 2 cards.

"Why did he remove it's Overlay Units?" I question to myself

"I Activate the Magic Card Creature Swap!" Kaito says placing the newly drawn spell into his duel disk, "This Card makes up each choose a Monster on our side of the field and give it to the opponent" Kaito explains.

"The only Monster on my field is Zenmaines." I mentally state to myself before looking at Kaito's field, "That means he wants to give me one of his monsters.

"I'll give you Number 30." Kaito says as Zenmaines appears on his field and Acid Golem appears on mine.

The Mark of 30 appears on my hand, I grit my teeth feeling the pressure of the Number but quickly push it off.

"Battle!" Kaito calls out, "Go Galaxy-Eyes attack Number 30 he orders his monster."

"Why is he suiciding into a Monster he gave me?" I question to myself, "Unless… Counter trap Open!" I yell out loudly as my set card flips open, "Negate Attack." This card negates an Attack and Ends the Battle Phase!" I say as a barrier appears in front of Acid Golem

"I set one card and end my turn!" Kaito says in a calm tone.

"My Turn, Draw!" I yell out as I draw my card.

Kaito smirks, "This very moment, you'll take Acid Golem's curse!" he tells me.

"What?" I hiss out in shock, I look up to see Acid Golem look at me before attacking me.

I grunt in pain as the Monster's "Attack" sends me flying (**Ventus: 4000 – 2000**)

"So that's why he gave me this Number." I mutter to myself getting up and dusting myself off.

"Acid Golem is a self-destructing Numbers, you see." Kaito explains. "Acting as compensation for being a mere Rank 3, yet wielding 3000 Attack Power, its body is engulfed with a set of deadly curses" he explains

"Curses?" I question.

"One of those being, if you don't detach one Overlay Unit from the start of your turn, you suffer 2000 points of Damage!" Kaito explains.

"Sounds Interesting!" I say with a grin.

"Battle!" I yell out.

"It's useless" Kaito tells me, "If Acid Golem has no Overlay Units attached to it, it can't attack." He tells me.

"I wasn't going for that." I tell Kaito.

"Huh?" Kaito questions.

"During my Main Phase 2 by using an Rank 3 as an Xyz Material I can Summon Downered Magician!" I explain as I wait for the Overlay Network to pen up but nothing happens, "What?!" I gasp in shock.

"The controller of Acid Golem cannot Special Summon." Kaito Explains.

"Crap." I hiss under my breath before grabbing the card I drew this turn and placing it into my duel disk, "I activate Xyz Treasure!" I announce as the Spell appears on the field, "Since there are 3 Xyz Monsters on the field I draw 3 Cards!" I say as I draw the 3 cards, "I set 2 cards and End my Turn!" I say as the set cards materialize face down.

"My Turn, Draw!" Kaito yells out drawing his card. "I activate Photon Sublimation" he announces placing a spell in his duel disk, "By banishing 2 Photon Monsters in my Graveyard I draw 2 cards." He explains as he draws the cards, "Next I Summon Photon Cerberus!" he says summoning the Monster that helped seal his victory against Yuma" (**Photon Cerberus, Level 3, 1300**) "When this card is Summoned we can't use any traps for the Turn!" Kaito explains as chains wrap around my set cards.

"Tchh" I growl out.

"Battle!" Kaito yells out, "Go Galaxy Eyes, attack Acid Golem" he orders the Dragon to Attack the Number. "This is Over Photon Stream of Destruction!" he orders his Dragon as it Attacks the Number.

"He has to be up to something." I mutter to myself, before to my shock Acid Golem is destroyed.

"The Numbers was destroyed?" I question in shock.

"Without Overlay Units attached to it, Acid Golem will still be destroyed when it takes an attack." Kaito explains to me

"There's more isn't there, you destroyed Acid Golem for a reason" I question.

"Your perceptive" Kaito says with a laugh, "The curse of Acid Golem continues, When it is destroyed, its controller takes 2000 points of damage!" he explains as the Graveyard Portal opens up and Acid Golem Climbs out of it.

"Whoa that's insane." I say with a whistle as Acid Golem is towering over me before giving out a roar and attacks me.

"Reverse Card Open!" I yell out.

"Did you forget?" Due to Cerberus you can't use Traps." Kaito says in reminder

The chains on my set card break as it flips open.

"A quick play spell?" Kaito questions in shock.

"Emergency Provisions!" I yell out as my set card opens, "I send Galaxy Wave, Factory and my set to the Graveyard to gain 3000 life points!" I explain as the two continuous spells vanish and my life increases just as the attack from Golem's curse hits me. (**Ventus: 2000 – 5000 – 3000**)

"Clever!" I didn't expect that, but it won't be enough to save you." He tells me, "Go Galaxion Direct Attack!" he orders his Xyz Paladin as it charges at me.

"Gahhh!" I yell out hissing in pain as my life fall to 1000 (**Ventus: 3000 – 1000**)

"Turn End!" Kaito calls out calmly.

"My Turn, Draw!" I yell out drawing my card, I smile at the Draw before adding it to my hand. "I Summon Wind-Up Magician!" I say as the Toy Magician appears on the field. (**Wind-Up Magician, Level 4, 600 ATK**) "Next I reveal Shark from my Hand to Special Summon it!" I say placing the card on my duel disk. (**Wind-Up Shark, Level 4, 1500 ATK**) "Magician's Effect, Since a Wind-Up Effect was activated I can summon a Level 4 or lower Wind-Up from my deck." I explain as a card pops out of my deck, "Come out, Wind-Up Knight!" I say as the toy knight appears on the field. (**Wind-Up Knight, Level 4, 1800 ATK**)

"Ho." Kaito says in interest

"I Overlay my Level 4 Wind-Up Magician and Wind-Up Shark!" I yell out as the Overlay Network opens up and the Monsters fly into it, "With these two monsters I construct the Overlay Network!" I chant out as the monsters enter the Overlay Network and it explodes into creation, "Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Now, descend! Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" I chant out as my ace dragon appears on the field. (**Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Rank 4, 2500 ATK**)

"Warning Warning, That monster is giving off similar energies to the Numbers!" Orbital Warns Kaito.

"Interesting." Kaito says with a grin.

"Dark Rebellions Monster Effect!" I call out as one of the Overlay Units are absorbed into its chest. "By Detaching an Overlay Unit I can target a Level 5 or Higher Monster's ATK and cut if in half and raise Dark Rebellion's ATK by the same amount" I explain as electricity begins to generate from Dark Rebellion and surrounds Galaxy Eyes! "TREASON DISCHARGE!" I call out as Galaxy is binded and its ATK is cut. (**Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon: 3000 ATK – 1500 ATK**) (**Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: 2500 ATK – 4000 ATK**) "Once More!" I call out as I detach the final overlay unit from Dark Rebellion! "Treason Discharge!" I call out as Galaxy Eyes is Halved Again. (**Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon: 1500 ATK – 750 ATK**) (**Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: 3000 ATK – 4750 ATK**)

"Kaito-sama!" Orbital chirps in worry.

"Battle!" I yell out pointing at Galaxion, "Go Dark Rebellion, Attack Starliege Lord Galaxion, Revolt of the Lightning Disobay" I order as it charges at the Paladin Photon Xyz.

"Naïve" Kaito says with a smirk, "Trap Card Open, Lumenize!" He calls out as his set card flips open, this card negates your attack and gives Galaxy Eyes ATK equal to the amount your Dark Rebellion Has.

"Oh shit!" I curse as Galaxy Eyes ATK goes up to 4500 (**Galaxy Eyes: 750 ATK – 4500 ATK**) "Turn End" I hiss out unable to do anything, "Dark Rebellions effect wears off at the end of the turn. (**Galaxy Eyes: 4500 ATK – 7500 ATK**) (**Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: 4750 ATK – 2500 ATK**)

"DRAW!" Kaito yells out drawing his card. "I Activate **Photon Refraction**!" he says placing the Spell into his duel disk, "By targeting Galaxy Eyes in exchange for being the only one to ATK this turn, he gains ATK Equal to all my other light Monsters." He explains as Galaxy Eyes gives off a roar and grows in size. (**Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon: 7500 ATK – 9500 ATK**)

9-9500 ATK?!" I yell out in shock.

"Battle!" Kaito yells out, "Go Galaxy Eyes attack Dark Rebellion!" he orders his Dragon, PHOTON STREAM OF DESTRUCTION!" he yells out.

"I Activate **Xyz Sparrow**'s Monster effect!" I say showing a monster card from my hand. "When an Xyz Monster is targeted for an ATK I can Special Summon this card from my hand and change the ATK Target to this card." I say as I place the Monster on the Duel Disk (**Xyz Sparrow, Level 1, 0 DEF**)

"Sorry." I apologize to the little bird as it is destroyed.

"Your persistence is annoying." Kaito growls out, "Turn End!" he says ending his turn.

"My….TURN!" I yell out drawing my card. "I Activate Xyz Sparrow's effect in my Graveyard." I say as the Graveyard Portal opens up, "By Banishing this card, I can Target a Xyz Monster on my Field and Summon an Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck with the Same Rank as the Targeted Monster but with a Different Name, and It's effect is Negated and It's ATK Power it 0." I explain as Sparrow changes form, "Come Fairy Cheer Girl!" I say as the Cheering Xyz appears on the field. (**Fairy Cheer Girl, Rank 4, 1900 ATK – 0 ATK**) "Let's go Kotori!" I say clenching the Symbol, "I Overlay the Rank 4 Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and Fairy Cheer Girl!" I call out as the two Xyz monsters enter turn into Overlay Units and fly into the Sky.

"What?!" Kaito questions in shock.

"With These two Xyz Monsters I construct a new Overlay Network!" I chant out as the two Xyz's enter the Overlay Network in the sky and it explodes into creation, "Light of the Skies, Darkness in the soul, when these two powers intersect the true power of χ shall rise, Xyz Summon, A new Generation, Rank 0 Numbers NΔ: Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon!" I call out as I pull the card out of the Extra Deck and place it onto the duel disk and the Monster created by mine and Kotori's bonds descends onto the field. (Numbers NΔ: Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon, Rank 0, 2500 ATK)

"E-E-E-ERROR ERROR ERROR NUMBERS NUMBERS NUMBERS BRRRZZZTTTT!" Orbital begins spazzing out.

"What is this Number?" Kaito questions

"Fairy Cheer Dragoon's Monster Effect!" I call out with a wave of my hand. "Be detaching an Overlay Unit I draw a card!" I explain as an Overlay Unit is absorbed into Dragoon's chest and it waves the orbs in its claws as my deck glows, "DRAW!" I say drawing my card and revealing it, "Wind-Up Soldier, 1800 ATK your dragon loses 1800 ATK and Fairy Cheer Dragon gains the same amount. (**Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon: 3000 ATK – 1200 ATK**) (**Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon: 2500 ATK – 4300 ATK**) "BATTLE!" I cry out, "Go Fairy Cheer Dragoon Attack Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon!" I order my monster.

"I don't know what this monster is but it is an Xyz non the less." Kaito states, "Galaxy Eyes Monster Effect!" he announces, "When this card is involved in a battle I can banish this monster and the battling monster." He says with as Galaxy lets out a roar.

"Fairy Cheer Dragoon is unaffected by Level 5 or higher Monsters!" I say as Galaxy Eyes Vanishes leaving Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragon alone on the field.

"Go Fairy Cheer Dragoon, DIRECT ATTACK!" I order my Monster.

Kaito watches the attack come at him before smirking, "I activate the Effect of Dimension Wanderer." He says placing the card from his hand into the Graveyard. "When a Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon leaves the field I can target a banished monster you control and Galaxy eyes and you take Damage equal to their ATK he says as a specter of Galaxy Eyes and Xyz Sparrow appears.

Crap I didn't have any outs, I smiled as the Attack came at me, "He's good." I say as I'm sent flying by the ATK. (**Ventus: 1000 – 0**) **(Kaito: WIN!**) I yell out in pain as the attack sends me flying into the fall causing me the gasp in pain as my Duel Disk impacts the ground hard causing all my cards to eject from the duel disk as a gust of wind catches all my cards sending them all flying off into the distance, I watch as Dark Rebellion and Fairy Cheer Girl are the last cards I see as the fly off into the distance on the wind, a crack appears in the Regnant's Symbol and more appear

Kaito walks up to me.

I let out a laugh, "You're good, let's duel again in the next life." I tell him.

Kaito looks at me for a moment, "Sure." He says with a nod holding out his hand.

I knew what was coming and I had accepted it, I just had one thing to do and I took a deep breath in, "YUMA, ASTRAL, KOTORI, TETSUO, TAKASHI, TOKUNOSUKE, FUYA, CATHY, AKARI, HARU, RYOUGA, RIO!" I call out loudly as an Image of each of my friends appears in my mind's eye, "Sorry…" I apologize with a face splitting grin that bore no regret on my face, "I'm dead." I finish closing my eyes as the Regnant's Symbol shatters to pieces before an agonizing pain tears through my body and my consciousness is pulled into an abyss of nothingness as two words echo on my fading consciousness.

"Photon Hand."

-Zexal-

OC Cards:

**Photon Refraction, Quick play Spell: Activate one of the Following Effects; * Target 1 Face up Photon Monster you Control, it can Attack all of your Opponent's Monsters once each. * Target 1 Face-Up Photon Monster You Control, it gains ATK equal to the ATK of all Face up LIGHT Monsters you Control Other Face-Up Monsters you Control cannot attack the turn you activate this card. You can only activate 1 Photon Refraction per turn**

**Xyz Sparrow, Effect Monster, Level 1, 0 ATK 0 DEF, Light, Winged Beast: This card cannot be Normal Summoned, When a face up Xyz Monster you control is target for an attack you can special summon this card from your hand, make this card the attack target instead. During your Main Phase if you control a face-up Xyz Monster with out any Xyz Material you can Banish this Card; Special Summon 1 Xyz Monster from your Extra Deck with the Same Rank as the Targeted Monster but with a different Name, It's effect is Negated and It's ATK Power is 0. Banish the Monster Summoned by this effect at the end of the turn.**


	22. Chapter 21: Reminiscence of the bird

**IM SORRY... I know its been a looong time since I updated this story.**

**Kotori: OVER TWO MONTHS I WAS WORRIED ABOUT MY BOYFRIEND!**

***Flinches* I'm sorry, I just couldn't figure out how to write out Ven's past in full detail from his view point and I was stuck on that, plus other RL distractions.**

**Kotori: so what did you do instead.**

**I simply decided to use my idea of the one shot of episodes 23 and 24 from your point of view and include your flash backs as the back story.**

**Kotori: but if you do my point of view, wont you miss out on some of Ven's past.**

***shrugs* probably but this way the story can progress and I think it would be nice for people to see your view point on the meeting, plus there are other hints to his past in the previous chapters**

**Kotori: Fair point... you didn't fudge it up to bad did you.**

***shrugs* I hope not, anyway without further ado enjoy the long awaited new chapter of The Emperor's Regnant we have a bit of a longer chapter for you this time as an apology and assure you that the newer chapters won't take as long.**

**Kotori: Don't hold your breath.**

"Zexal" : Present

"_Zexal_" : Past

**Fierce fight to save our friend, Reminiscence of the bird.**

(Earlier that same day, Kotori POV)

I was standing in the pool by the water talking to my friends, they were asking me all kinds of questions about my relationship with Ventus, I had told them we were dating and they kept pestering me for details, it was starting to get a little on my nerves.

"Hold on." I heard the familiar voice of Takashi call out, I turn to see him blocking Yuma's path.

"What's your problem?!" Yuma questions Takashi.

"You are not allowed to enter the pool while wearing a pendant!" Takashi tells Yuma.

I walked over to the two of them feeling embarrassed about their antics but wanting to ask Yuma where Ven was as I hadn't seen him recently.

"Why not?" Yuma questions Takashi

"That's because, to summarize, it's dangerous!" Takashi tells Yuma.

"It's not dangerous at all!" Yuma retorts.

"Cat thinks so as well." Cat-chan says popping up, I used to feel a bit of jealously at her, but once I realized my feelings for Ven those went away.

"Say Yuma, didn't you dive into the pool a few days ago and injure your head as a result?" I ask Yuma trying to get him to remember how he accidently hurt Takashi with the pendant.

"Head injury, who hit theirs?" Yuma questions in confusion.

I let out a frustrighted internal sigh, of course he wouldn't remember.

"My head!" Takashi yells out in anger ripping off his swimming cap and showing his bandaged head to Yuma.

Yuma lets out a frustrated sigh and goes towards the boy's locker room.

Once Yuma came back I dove into the water as the class began, I looked around still wondering where Ven was, he was never late for a class so I was a bit worried.

-Zexal—

During the class there was a loud explosion noise from the direction of the Boy's locker room.

"What was that?" Tetsuo questions.

"I don't know, let's go take a look." Takashi says.

Everyone gets out of the pool and heads towards the locker room, there's a giant hole in the wall, as the boys walk in and look around us girls look through the whole.

"Cruel." I state as the boy's locker room was completely destroyed.

"Who did this?" Tetsuo questions.

"To summarize, no human could have done it." Takashi says.

"Obviously." I think to myself in sarcasm before mentally chuckling, Ven was really starting to rub off on me.

"It's gone… gone… gone…Gone!" Yuma yells in a panic, "The Emperor's Key is gone!" he yells in panic.

"What?" Takashi questions.

"Who would have taken the Emperor's Key?" Tetsuo questions.

I notice the clock by the wall showing class was over, "Guys!" I call out to them gaining their attention, "Class is over, get changed and we'll go search for the key." I tell them.

"Why are you acting like Ven." Yuma mutters under his breath.

"Just do it!" I snap at him a little peeved at his attitude before going to the girls locker room, "What the?!" I gasp in shock as the girls locker room is damaged as well but less than the boys, the only thing damaged was.. "My Locker!" I yell out in shock as I run over and dig through my locker to make sure everything was there, I let out a sigh of relief that the small necklace Ven gave me was still there.

I grabbed my clothes and picked them up when something fell onto the floor, "A deck box?" I question picking it up and opening it and grabbing one card, "These are…" I mentally say in shock as the card I grabbed was an Xyz Monster, but the name of the Xyz monster was what shocked me the most, its name was, "Numbers 96!" I state in shock, what was Ven's Numbers doing here? I question to myself.

The card glowed slightly and the alternate form of Number 96 appeared in front of me.

"What did you do to Ven?!" I yell as the Number.

The pitch black Number looks at me for a moment, "That idiot." Number 96 growls under his breath.

"What are you talking about?" I question with a frown.

"Ventus gave us, his Numbers to you because he knew he would end up facing the Number Hunter.

"WHAT?!" I yell out in shock as I placed my hand over my heart with a feeling of worry, "Ven." I mutter in worry for my boyfriend before realizing something, "Wait, you're a Number that desires power, why would you care if Ven wins or loses."

Number 96 gives a shrug, "As much as I hate it that brat's good, he was able to defeat several number's duelists without using the power of Number's itself so working with him would be the best bet for me to obtain all the numbers." He answers me.

I nod, accepting his answer but one other thing was bothering me, "How come the Numbers aren't trying to possess me?" I question him looking at the Numbers in my hand.

"It's because all Numbers owned by Ven are subconsciously infected with a task." Number 96 says with a bit of a hiss.

"A task?" I question him.

Number 96 looks at me for a moment, "Protecting you." He tells me

I felt my face heat up at that declaration, "J-just go back into your card so I can change." I stammer out.

Number 96 just smirks at me before vanishing and I change back into my normal school uniform and attach the Number deck box to my skirt waist line and I go out to rejoin the others.

-Zexal-

"Astral!" I saw Yuma call out before stopping to look up as thunder rumbles, "Wh-What's going on?" he questions

"Yuma." I call out as we all run up to him.

"What's up with those clouds?!" Takashi questions.

"Could it be..." Yuma says trailing off before running off.

"Yuma." I say trying to get him to stop and explain.

We all take off after Yuma.

As we were running I heard a faint voice over the wind, the thunder was blocking off most of it so I only caught the very last bit, "Sorry, I'm dead!" the voice said, at those words my heart felt as if it was being torn apart, I reached up and felt that I was crying, I wiped the tears away. "Why?" I question to myself unsure about where these feelings were coming from, I felt something hit me in the face.

I let out a yelp of shock before realizing a card hit me in the face, I grasp them and take a look before my body goes cold in fear, I was holding three separate cards, but these cards made me more scared then when I saw the Numbers, the cards in my hand were, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Fairy Cheer Girl and the monster Ven and I had created through our bonds, Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon, I knew Ven would never let these out of his sight which only meant one thing.

"VEN!" I yell out in year running past the others and heading up towards the roof, when I get there I see Ven on the floor his hair is snow white. I ran over to Ven and picked him up and shook him, "Ven…Ven, Wake up…please wake up!" I plead beginning to choke up.

"Tsukumo Yuma." the boy beside me says I look up and notice him looking at Yuma.

"You're…Kaito!" Yuma says in shock.

I gasped, Ven had told me about the Number Hunter, Kaito. I looked down at Ven as my eyes blur with tears as they fall onto my boyfriend's unconscious face.

"You S-Stupid I-Idiot, you always try to take on everyone's problems yourself." I stammer out as my body trembles, I bury my face in Ven's chest not wanting to face everyone.

"Just what the hell did you do to my brother?!" Yuma yells at Kaito.

"Kaito-sama, you've used up about 85 % of your Photon Mode, you can't afford to Duel now!" A robotic voice says.

"I know that." Kaito replies I hear the soft scraping of Metal beside me but I'm too upset to care.

"Th-That's the Emperor's Key!" Yuma yells out, before I hear his footsteps run past me a bit before stopping, "Astral!" Yuma yells out.

I felt Cat-Chan come over and gently lift me up, "Come on Kotori-Chan let's get Ventus to a Hospital, come on smile, Ven wouldn't want you to cry." She tells me with a smile.

I rub my eyes to wipe away the tears, "Y-Yeah your right." I tell Cathy with a Hiccup as Tetsuo calls an ambulance for Ven.

-Zexal—

As we were waiting for the Ambulance to get here I was absentmindedly stroking Ven's hair as I thought about two years ago and how we first met.

_I was walking along with my mother licking the ice cream I had got when I heard a strange crash come from a nearby alleyway. "What's that?" I questioned curiously, looking in the direction the sound came from._

_"__I'm not sure Kotori, probably just a stray cat." My Mother tells me. _

_I wasn't so sure it was a wild animal, something was pulling me toward that ally, I wanted to find out what so I ran towards it._

_"__Kotori!" My Mom yells out as I run into the ally, when I get there I see a young boy about my age unconscious. "Hey, are you okay?" I question him gently shaking him, the boy lets out a groan and sits up, he looks around for a second with a distracted gaze before his eyes focus on me._

_"__Hi I'm Kotori Mizuki, what's your name?" I question him._

_"__N-A-M-E" he says very brokenly as if struggling to speak._

_"__Are you okay?" I question him in concern._

_Suddenly the boy lurches over and begins coughing violently a bit of blood spewing out of his mouth landing on my feet._

_"__MOM!" I yell out in fear and worry for this strange new boy._

_"__Kotori!" My Mom yells out in fear running up and hugging me._

_I look at my mother feeling tears in my eyes, "Help my friend." I plead with her leading her to the boy._

_"__What's his name dear?" Mom asks me, I shake my head. "I don't know." I tell her._

_Mom hugs me slightly, "Don't worry, we'll make sure he's safe." She tells me as she pulls out her D-Gazer and makes a call."_

-Zexal-

I broke out of my memory when we arrived at the hospital and Ven was attached to the monitors, "The doctors said there's no abnormality in his body." Cathy states

"Then, why is he still in this coma?" Tetsuo questions, I elbow him in the stomach for that comment.

"K-Kotori what was that for?!" Tetsuo questions, I turn and give him the strongest death glare I could manage.

"To summarize then, He's…" Takashi says trailing off not wanting to experience my anger.

"Lost his consciousness" Cat finishes.

"No." Yuma says as the others look at Yuma while I rub my unconscious boyfriend's hand, "Ven's soul was absorbed." Yuma tells the others.

"His soul was absorbed?" Tetsuo questions Yuma.

"If that's so, Yuma-kun, what's going on here?" Takashi questions.

"If you lose a duel to him, that Kaito guy will seize the Numbers card along with the victim's soul." Yuma explains.

I shook my head in denial, there was no way Ven could ever lose a duel.

"And now he has my Emperor's Key, Astral is still inside there!" Yuma tells everyone.

"Astral you say?" Tetsuo says in shock.

"Yes, there is a unique space inside the Emperor's Key, he always stays in that place if he's not with me." Yuma tells us.

"In conclusion, Ven's soul and Astral who is inside Emperor's Key, are all in Kaito's hands now?" Takashi questions Yuma.

"Then let's find Kaito." Cathy says.

"But how do we find him?" Tetsuo questions.

"Since he took that key, that must mean he's using it for research purposes!" Takashi says muttering a theory, "To summarize, he's to analyze it using a computer!" he says before snapping his fingers, "Yuma-kun, maybe we can find Emperor's Key after all!" he tells Yuma.

"What?" I question feeling my heart raise at the thought of a way to try and save Ven.

"It's simple, if Kaito is using a computer to try and research the Emperor's Key, we can have Ushio-Sensei try and back track anything related to a computer researching the Emperor's Key and we'll find Kaito.

"All right, let's go." Yuma says as they all ran out the door, I took the ribbon out of my hair and tied it onto Ven's wrist before I left as well, I could of sworn I saw a faint smile on Ven's face when I did that but It was probably just my imagination.

-Zexal-

_I was fidgeting with the hem of my dress as my mother and I sat in the hospital waiting room, when we had arrived the boy had been taken into the ICU…. I think that's what they called it, I couldn't understand most of their speech but they mentioned something about bruised ribs and punctured lungs._

_"__He's going to be fine." My mom says rubbing my head._

_I just nod weakly, the sight of a near dying young child being almost too much for my young mind to fully process at that time._

_After an undetermined amount of time the doctor came out and told us we could see the boy, I gripped my mother's hand shyly._

_"__Are you sure you want to see him Kotori, you don't have to if you don't want to." My mother tells me._

_I shake my head, "No I want to do this." I say clenching my fist in determination, there was something about this boy that drew me to him it was different from the hyper activeness that drew me to my friend Yuma so I wanted to figure out what it is._

_The Doctor led us into the room where the boy was sitting up on a bed look out the window, when we came in he turned his head to look at us._

_"__Unfortunately his vocal cords were damaged, so he can't talk but we think it's just temporary." The Doctor tells my mother._

_"__Thanks for telling us that" My mother thanks the Doctor as he leaves_

_I shyly walk up to the bed and give him a smile, "Glad to see you're awake, you feeling okay?" I ask him._

_He just stares at me blankly_

_"__I-I'm K-Kotori M-Mizuki" I introduce shyly wondering if me recognized me looking at my feet with interest, I flinch slightly when I feel him reach out for me wondering what he was doing when I feel him pull out my hair ribbon._

_"__H-Hey!" I say in shock trying to grasp the ribbon but fail as he pulls it away and my hair falls down._

_He smiles at me and mouths a word to me but I don't understand what he said._

_"__He said Pretty" My mom tells me, I look up at her in confusion._

_"__He must think you look pretty with your hair down natural" My Mother says in a teasing tone._

_I feel my face heat up in a blush, and I look over at the mystery kid as my lips puff in a pout, "Geeze you're a strange kid, almost like the wind." I comment to him._

_I notice he has a distant look on his face at the last comment, "You okay?" I ask him._

_He looks at me and smiles, I felt my face heat up from that, "Why am I feeling this?" I question to myself as we're led out of the room to let him recover._

-Zexal-

We all went back to Heartland Academy and found that Ukyo-Sensei was still there, Takashi went up to him and told him of our plan.

"Spread the Computer Virus?" Ukyo asked in shock.

"There is no other way, the guy who stole the Emperor's Key from Yuma-Kun, should be researching it with a computer right now!" Takashi tells our teacher.

"In other words, we just need to hack into it successfully and find that data" Ukyo-sensei questions Takashi.

"It should be a piece of cake considering your computer skills!" Takashi tells Ushio.

"But still…" Ukyo-sensei says hesitating.

"I'm begging you Sensei!" Yuma pleads with our teacher, "If you don't, Ven and Astral will never come back!" he tells our teacher.

Our teacher still looked unsure, I grabbed his hand and led him away slightly from the others.

"Sensei, you'll help us won't you otherwise I might accidently forget about not mentioning the one responsible for that "Incident" a while back." I say with a grin.

"Wh-What?" Ukyo says in shock.

I crossed my arms and tapped my finger, "You caused a loooot of trouble back then would be ashamed if the authority's found out the truth." I tell our teacher.

"You….about that…." Ushio says stumbling for words.

I raise an eyebrow, "So what's it gonna be?" I question our teacher.

Ukyo lets off a sigh, "Okay I'll do it" he admits with a sigh.

"Wow, I've been hanging with Ven to much." I think to myself before turning to the others giving them the thumbs up.

Takashi and Tetsuo grab Ukyo-sensei's arms and lead him out of the room.

"Then let's hurry, Sensei, quick! Takashi says as the guide Ukyo.

"Yuma!" I say stopping him as we all run out.

"Kotori?" Yuma questions me.

"After finding the whereabouts of Kaito, you'll go after him, and you'll duel him, right?" I question him.

"Kotori…" Yuma says trailing off.

I look up at him, "I know that you want to save Astral and Ven but promise me one thing." I tell him

"What?" Yuma questions.

My face twists into an evil grin, "Destroy the one who hurt MY Ven" I tell him, in the back of my mind I could feel a chuckle and an impressed whistle, I chuckled to myself Ven's rubbed off on me even more then I realized.

Yuma chuckles, "You act like Ven so much I can't tell the difference sometimes" Yuma tells me before nodding and putting his hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry, it's gonna be alright." He tells me.

I nod as we run to catch up to the others.

"But, class rep, is it really OK to spread the computer virus around?" Tetsuo asks Takashi as we watch Ukyo-sensei work.

"Of course, although it's a virus, it's not a spam program, this program can find all the data about Emperor's Key throughout the network!" Takashi tells Tetsuo.

I tapped my foot impatiently as Takashi explained how the virus worked and the others questioning why the virus looked like Bugman, I just wanted to get results quickly so we could save Ven, I felt like an important part of my soul was missing and I needed to get it back ASAP.

"Finally a response!" Ukyo says as a location pops up on the computers.

"That's..." Yuma states.

"It seems to be the Warehouse in the 4th Terminal managed by Heartland." Ukyo tells us.

"The Emperor's Key is over there!" Yuma says.

"And so is Ven's soul." I think to myself.

Yuma and I take off running, and the others follow us shortly after.

-Zexal-

While we were running Yuma's deck box began to glow.

"What is it?" I question.

"Don't tell me Astral is…" Yuma says trailing off before shaking his head, "Let's go!" he tells us as we continue running towards the pier.

-Zexal-

_Over the course of the next few days after school I would go to the hospital and visit that boy, apparently the doctor's liked it when I visited because they told me that my visits are the only thing that got any type of response from the boy and that hopefully I would be able to help him recover from what ever happened to him._

_My mother and I had gone back to where we first found the boy to see if we could find anything that might hint towards what happened._

_"__So this is where you found him right, Kotori?" my mother questions me._

_I nod as I look around before spotting something and running over to it._

_"__You see something Kotori?" My mother asks me._

_I move a small bit of debris before pulling out a strange duel disk._

_"__A duel disk?" My mother questions taking it from me, "Not like any model I've seen." She comments looking it over, "Come on, let's take this back to the house and see if we can find any hint of what happened to that boy._

_"__But, shouldn't we return it to him?" I question._

_My mother nods at me, "Once we are positive it's his we'll return it to him I promise." She tells me._

_I nod as we both head for home, my stomach growling a bit from hunger._

-Zexal-

When we reached the pier we hopped over the gate and ran towards the building where the Emperor's Key was supposed to be.

Open, Open the door!" Yuma yells out pounding furiously on the door.

"Yuma, the deck again!" I tell him when I notice his deck is glowing again.

Yuma pauses on his pounding on the door and gasps looking at his deck, "Astral is fighting, Astral is facing grave danger!" he says

"But how..." I question wondering how he know that.

Yuma shrugs, "No clue, I just know it, he's fighting right now." he tells us.

"Astral, with whom?" Tetsuo questions Yuma.

"With the Numbers Hunter?" Takashi theorizes.

"Damn, Open, open the door!" Yuma yells out as he resumes his pounding on the door.

"It's no use, damn it, we came this far…in the end I couldn't save Astral and Ven" Yuma says falling to his knees in defeat, I felt a spark of irritation that Yuma would give up so easily.

"Yuma." I mutter under my breath before walking up to him, "Yuma!" I say aloud gaining his attention, when he look up at me I take my hand and strike him hard across the cheek.

All our friends grasp at that.

"Yuma!" I scold him, "Do you think if Ven was in your shoes, he'd give up so easily?" I ask him.

"Kotori…" Yuma say before nodding and standing up, "Your right, Ven wouldn't give up." He says standing up, "I may be the only one who can save Astral and Ven."

"Open up!" Yuma says trying to open the doors with brute strength.

I felt myself smile a bit at Yuma's attitude before going up to Yuma and joining him, "I'm coming Ven!" I say as I pull on the door, soon Tetsuo, Takashi, and Cathy join us in trying to pull open the door.

After a bit of pulling the door opens, "The gate opened?" Yuma says in surprise, his D-Gazer rings and he pulls it out answering it.

"I just implanted a virus into the security system there, Hurry up and infiltrate!" Ukyo-sensei tells Yuma over his D-Gazer.

"That's awesome, Ukyo-sensei!" Yuma tells our teacher, "Let's go everyone!" He tells us as we all run into the building.

-Zexal-

"Astral, Astral!" Yuma calls out as we run through the halls of the lab, "Where are you, Astral!" he yells out.

"If Astral is in the key, does he really thing he can answer him?" I hear Number 96 remark sarcastically from the back of my mind.

I ignore the Pitch Black Number's quip as we run

"Wha- what is this?" Yuma questions in shock when a giant robot crashes down in front of us, suddenly another one drops down behind us boxing us in as the transform one into a spider like robot and another into a humanoid.

"Ahh, the welcoming committee." I say with a chuckle as the humanoid one launches an attack at us as we all dodge out of the way.

"Gotcha!" Yuma says as he kicks the humanoid robot knocking it back.

Everyone begins dodging the robot's attacks.

"Take this!" Tetsuo says tackling the spider robot, "Yuma, go!" he tells Yuma.

Yuma makes a gasp of surprise.

"We'll keep them busy, you go on ahead!" Tetsuo tells Yuma.

"But…" Yuma says in protest as a robot goes to grab him before its hit by a shoe.

"Good way to "bring it to 'em, class rep!" Cathy tells Takashi.

"Yuma, please go on!" Takashi tells Yuma

"Go on and Get back the ones most precious to us, Yuma!" I tell him.

"Everyone." Yuma says his eyes watering slightly, before he takes off running and slides past the humanoid robot and taking off.

"To summarize, I got you with that one!" Takashi says to the spider robot as he throws his other shoe.

"Come and get me!" Tetsuo says making a face and the humanoid robot while I wave and it and smile cheekily.

"You certainly are a spirited one…I can see why he likes you." I hear Number 96 say in amusement.

I roll my eyes at the comment as Takashi and Cathy take off running with the Spider robot following while Tetsuo and I hide in a hallway from the humanoid robot, but unfortunately it doesn't work very long as we're running quickly.

-Zexal-

_I walked into the room the boy was recovering in, I had earlier in the week introduced Yuma to him he made a small connection with Yuma but he had the look of someone who was extremely annoyed the whole time Yuma talked to him in his peppy tone._

_"__HI." I say as I walk into the room. _

_He turns to me and smiles._

_"__Here, I found this and thought it might be yours." I tell him as I pull out the Duel Disk that was in my hands._

_I see his eyes widen in slight shock as he takes it and looks it over before he gently strokes the device._

_"__Anything?" I question wondering if that Duel Disk meant anything to him_

_He looks at it before pushing some buttons on it, he must have remembered something from it because Mom couldn't figure out anything on it_

_He holds up the Disk showing the screen info to me, it was full on unknown data, but in the name spot it said VENTUS._

_"__Ventus, is that your name?" I question him._

_The now named Ventus shrugs._

_I was confused, "What do you mean?" I question._

_Ventus uses his duel disk to type out a message, "I don't remember anything except when I woke up and saw your face in the ally back then." I felt my face heat up at that comment, "but when you said I was like the wind that day it struck a chord with me and brought back one word in my memory, Ventus meaning wind, I decided that I would use that title until the day came where I retrieved my memories and real name." he finishes typing out._

_"__What will you do if you don't recover your memories?" I question him._

_Ven just smiles at me, "Make some new ones." He types without missing a beat._

_I was a bit surprised, here was a kid with amnesia and he didn't let it bother him, I felt something flutter in my stomach for a moment before looking at the clock, "I gotta go school tomorrow and all but I'll see you after okay?" I ask Ventus._

_He nods and smiles at me as he lays down on the bed as I leave the room._

-Zexal-

During the chase Tetsuo and I had gotten separated somehow.

"Tch, these things are REALLY starting to get annoying!" I comment as the humanoid robot continues to chase me.

"Crap!" I mutter under my breath when I find myself in a corner with the robot coming at me, I let out a grin. "Come at me tin can!" I challenge to robot as it charges at me when suddenly it falls to the ground.

"Nani?" I question before noticing a 96 mark on my right hand fade away as I see the spirit of the Numbers floating behind me, he silently looks at me before vanishing again.

For such an "Evil" Number he didn't seem all that bad more like a misbehaved child, I shook my head from those thoughts and took off running again, eventually meeting back up with the others when an Alarm begins to wail.

"What's going on?" Cathy asks.

"To summarize, just run for your lives!" Takashi tells us.

"Yeah!" Tetsuo says in agreement

"But what about Yuma?" I question.

Tetsuo grasped my wrist making me make a noise between a growl and a gasp, a growl because someone other than Ven touched me like that and a gasp because I was surprised Tetsuo did that.

"That guy's fine, believe in him!" Tetsuo tells me about Yuma.

I nod as we all run out the building

-Zexal—

_"__How did this happen?" I think to myself as I nestle into my mother's embrace, we had been on the way to visit Ven in the hospital because the Doctors said he could be released into our care. When suddenly some guys had grabbed me and mommy and shoved up into a van and took us to a warehouse somewhere._

_"__Please let my daughter go!" My mother pleads._

_Ugly as I dubbed him let out a smirk, "Not a chance, do you know how long I've wanted to get my revenge on you."_

_"__Revenge?" I question to myself as my mother pulls me into a protective hug._

_"__What are you talking about?" My mother asks in confusion._

_"__DON'T PLAY DUMB!" Ugly yells smashing a nearby table making me flinch, "It's because of your mistake that I spent years in that hell hole._

_I feel my mother stiffen._

_"__Mommy?" I question in worry she had told me once before that before I was born she had a been involved in a tough case with her old job a law something but my young mind didn't really find any interest in what she was saying so I had blanked it out._

_She pulls my into another tight hug and blocks off my ears with her arms so I can't hear what she's saying, Suddenly I'm yanked from my mother's grasp as my arms are twisted._

_"__It-It hurts" I cry._

_"__Please Let her Go!" My mother yells in protest_

_Suddenly the door slams open making us all pause, we turn to see Ven there breathing heavily._

_"__V-Ven!" I say using the nickname he told me to use on one of our visits feeling a smile._

_"__Ventus what are you doing here?!" My mother asks in shock._

_"__Something in my gut told me I needed to be hear." Ventus answers making me wonder exactly how he knew to be here._

_"__Looks like the cavalry has arrived" Ugly says with a smirk before gesturing to his two thugs to get Ven._

_"__VEN!" I yell out in worry, before letting out a yell of pain as the guy holding me hits me hard on the head._

_I look up to see Ven walking up silently a strange look on his face as he activates his duel disk the two thugs who were sent after him unconscious on the floor._

_"__Oh." Ugly says raising an eyebrow in interest, "So you wanna fight me to save these weaklings, fine but know this when you lose their death will be on your hands." He says as he's handing a duel disk._

_The thugs put our D-Gazer's Over our eyes and make us watch._

_"__DUEL/duel" Ugly cries out and Ven says softly his vocal cords just beginning to heal._

_"__Good Luck, Ven." I mentally cheer as Mom pulls me close._

_Ven's Dueling was how should I say….Horrible I guess without any memories he didn't know you didn't know what to do his field was empty as was his hand and his life was barely hanging on with 300 life points while Ugly had full life and a giant monster on his side of the field with a 4400 Attack Point monster, but thankfully he didn't have any other cards on his field and had just ended his turn._

_Ugly laughs at Ven, "I've never seen someone duel so horrible, you amuse me kid tell you what why don't you surrender your losing fight and I might let those two go."_

_Ven looks down in thought and slowly moving has to his duel disk._

_"__DON'T!" I yell at Ven making him stop_

_"__Shut Up you annoying brat!" The thug holding me says hitting me hard on the head knocking me down and making my eyes tear in pain._

_"__Kotori!" Ventus says in worry._

_I felt myself smile slightly through the pain that Ventus finally said my name._

_"__You Stupid Bitch, learn your place!" the Thug says hitting me again and again my eyes going blurry from tears of pain._

_"__KOTORI!" My mother yells in fear, "Stop it please!" She begs before she's hit hard knocking her out._

_"__Mooom!" I cry out in worry, my body shaking in tears._

_"__H….e….l…p Ven" I weakly groan out._

_I heard a ferocious growling, I looked around trying to find it, even Ugly and his thugs looked surprise, the growling got louder and I realized it was coming from Ven._

_"__Ven?" I question my head hurting._

_"__ARUUGHHHH, My, TURN!" Ventus yells practically tearing the card from his deck before he slams the card into his duel disk, "I activate the Magic Card Spring Xyz!" He says as a card image appears on the field, "Due to this card's effect I revive two Wind- Up monsters with the same level in my graveyard, Come back Wind-Up Soldier, Wind-Up Warrior!" he calls out as his two monsters appear from the grave portal on the field." _

_"__Big deal so you brought out a shield, did you forget my monster has a piercing effect?" Ugly asks Ven in a mocking tone._

_"__Spring Xyz's secondary effect." Ventus says as if he wasn't interrupted, the two summoned monsters are immediately used as Xyz Material to summon an Xyz Monster." He says as the two toys turn into lights and fly up into the air as the network opens in front of him._

_"__What?" Ugly questions._

_"__Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs!" Ven chants as the overlay network explodes and he holds up a blank card, "Now, Descend!" he says as an image appears on the card, "Xyz Summon, Appear Rank 4 Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" he calls out as a dragon emerges on the field, (Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Rank 4, 2500 ATK.)_

_Ugly snaps out of his brief shock, "It doesn't matter if you manned to summon an Xyz, its attack is way less than my monster's to bad." He says taunting Ven._

_"__I can never forgive you." Ven says softly._

_"__Ehh, come again?" Ugly says looking at Ven._

_"__I Said, I CAN NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" Ven says snapping his head up at Ugly, his eyes scared me they weren't the kind ones Ven had, this was something… darker, "Dark Rebellion's Monster Effect!" he yells out throwing his hand into the air, "By detaching an Overlay Unit one Level 5 or Higher Monster losses half its attack." He says as a light is absorbed into the dragon's chest and Ugly's monster is bound by lightning as its attack goes down (4400 – 2200) (Dark Rebellion: 2500 – 4700)_

_"__4750?!" Ugly questions in shock._

_"__Once more Dark Rebellion!" Ven orders his dragon as his monster absorbs another Overlay Unit and Ugly's monster is bound once more, (2200 – 1100) (Dark Rebellion: 4700 - 5800_

_"__W-Wait, Can't we talk about this?" Ugly questions in a panic," I-If you spare me I'll leave the girl alone and never her again I promise!" Ugly pleads with Ven._

_"__Battle." Was Ven's cold response, "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, attack his monster, REVOLT OF THE LIGHTNING, DISOBAY!" he calls out as his dragon attack's Ugly's monster creating a giant explosion rocking the whole room, I let out a scream as the shock waves as I'm sent flying before I'm stopped, I look to see Ven holding me standing on top of Dark Rebellion, his eyes are still scary but he gives me a gently smile._

_"__Ven!" I say cuddling into his chest the events of the day having been to much as I fell asleep in his arms._

_-Zexal—_

_"__Hey how you feeling?" I hear a voice say as I wake up, I realize I'm in my room and Ven is sitting on a chair I assume he got from somewhere in the house._

_"__What happened?" I question._

_Ven softly rubs my hair, "You just had a bad dream." He tells me._

_"__What but mom and I were kidnapped and you saved…" I say before Ven puts and finger on my lips making me blush._

_Ven smiles at me, "Don't dwell on it, it was nothing more than a bad dream." He tells me with a kind smile._

_"__But it felt so real." I mutter softly while wondering if that really was real or not, I reached up to feel where I had been hit but didn't feel any pain before realizing something, "Wait if it wasn't a dream why aren't you still in the hospital?" I question._

_Ven smiles at me, "I was released earlier today and your mom invited me over for dinner, she told me you were still sleeping and when I came to check on you, you seemed to be having a bad dream so I sat with you and helped comfort you." He says like it's no big deal._

_I felt my face heat at the fact Ven was watching me sleep, "S-so what are you gonna do now?" I ask trying and failing to stop my face from feeling so flushed._

_Ven shrugs, "Who knows." He says with a shrug before he looks out the window, "I was offered a place by Yuma to stay, I might take him up on that offer, he may be a bit annoying at times and irritate the heck out of me." He says._

_I chuckle at that, knowing that was very much Yuma._

_"__Yet…at the same time." Ven says pausing and smiling._

_"__At the same time?" I question._

_"__I can't help but feel something from his attitude something… familiar I'm not sure what it is but it makes me want to protect Yuma, almost as if I'm making up for a mistake._

_"__A Mistake?" I question._

_Ven shrugs, "I dunno but maybe I'll find out" he says before he turns to me and holds out his hand, "Nice to meet you I'm Tsukumo Ventus" he says with a grin._

_"__Tsukumo?" I question tilting my head_

_Ven chuckles, "I need a last name don't I, If I'm gonna be living with Yuma and being a brother might as well take the last name as well." He says with a light chuckle._

_I let out a chuckle, "True." I chuckle and take his hand and shake it blushing at the contact, "Nice to meet you Tsukumo Ventus, I'm Mizuki Kotori." I say playing along._

_Ventus brought up his Idea to the Tsukumo family, luckily they easily accepted it, Yuma was happy to have a boy to relate to, Akari was happy to have an intelligent sibling to talk to and Haru was happy to have another grandchild, Ven's easy going attitude made him easy to become one of the Tsukumo family and soon we had almost all but forgotten he was adopted, Ven was very protective of Yuma, yet would poke fun at him at times, it may have been a strange start, but I wouldn't trade these memories for anything._

-Zexal-

YUMA!" I cry out at the building explodes, I didn't want to lose another important friend to me in one day.

I felt my legs lose their strength as I fell to my knees, fearing that I may have lost two of my closest friends today.

"Yuma….Ven!" I say as tears slide out of my eyes.

Suddenly the debris shifts and Yuma's head pops out, I felt a smile on his face that he was safe.

"Heh, Hey, Kotori!" Yuma greets me standing up.

"Don't just Hey me, you're such an idiot!" I scold him, "Did you do it, did you save Ven?" I question.

"Yeah." Yuma says giving me a thumbs up.

I felt my heart soar and relief before I took off running.

"Kotori?" Yuma yells after me in shock as I ran

-Zexal—

I was out of breath when I arrived at the room where Ven was only to find it empty

"Ven…Ven where are you!" I call out looking around wondering if he was hiding.

"Ms. I'm going to have to ask you to leave if you aren't going to be quiet," a Doctor says walking into the room.

"I'm sorry." I apologize giving her a small bow, "Do you know where the boy who was in this room is.

"That Tsukumo Ventus kid?" she asks me.

I nod.

She shakes her head, "Wish I knew, he just woke up a bit ago and left without a word.

"Why didn't you stop him?" I question a bit mad.

"He didn't exactly take a normal route." She says pointing to an open window.

I chuckled under my breath that was so Ventus, "I'm sure he's fine, thanks' for everything though." I tell the nurse as I leave.

"Your welcome" the Nurse calls after me.

I decided to go home and took a long shower before I put on some Pajamas and climbed into bed, hopefully I would see Ventus tomorrow, today had been tough, I set Ventus Numbers as well as the three cards that symbolized our connection on my bedside nightstand as I closed my eyes and let sleep take me.

-Zexal-

There's a new poll on my profile page asking a simple question, Yuma or Ventus. I won't tell you what this poll is for all I will say is that it will the effect an outcome later on in the second book Carnival Days, the poll will remain open until that chapter comes.


	23. Chapter 22: The Paths We Take

**Chapter 22: The Paths we take, Go to the Carnival!**

(Ven POV)

I let out a slight groan as I felt my consciousness return to me, my eyes felt really heavy and I struggled a bit opening them, when the room came into focus I sat up and realized I was lying in a hospital room.

"What happened?" I mutter to myself trying to remember what happened before it comes back to me,

_"__Photon Hand!" Kaito said._

"Oh yeah." I say clenching my fists remembering the loss, "but how am I alive?" I ask myself as I take a look at my body, I noticed Kotori's ribbon was tied around my wrist and let out a soft smile. Before my thoughts went back to my earlier musings.

"Perhaps it was because I didn't have the Numbers on me." I muse before standing up, I almost fall down but managed to steady myself, it only takes a second for me to regain my full leg strength I catch an image of my reflection, "looks like not everything is back to normal." I comment as I see that my hair didn't go back to its normal color but had kept the snow white color of the soul less photon hand victims.

"What does this mean?" I question running my fingers through my hair contemplating what this new development could mean before shaking my head, "I'd better go find Kotori and get my Numbers back, I don't want her in any more danger then necessary." I think to myself as I clench my fists, "but I don't want to deal with any delays." I mutter before I notice a window latch, I detach myself from the monitor making it wail as I opened the window and jumped, I used my agility to make it safely to the ground and snuck off into the night.

-zexal-

I had spent a few hours walking around the park to help clear my head, I was trying to decide what I should do next.

"Maybe, I should ask 96?" I say thinking aloud I say as I put my hand in my pockets, still wearing the hospital clothes, "But it's my own fault I lost against Kaito, I had gotten so used to winning that my hubris overcame me and I lost sight." I mutter kicking a rock, "But still…." I say trailing off looking at the full moon above, "Would it be right for me to leave without word to anyone for six months." I wonder to myself as a soft breeze blows through my hair, before I shake my head, "No, I need to do this, but I'll tell Kotori at least." I think to myself before I start walking again in the general direction of where Kotori's house was located.

-Zexal-

When I got to Kotori's house I snuck into her room using the tree outside her window to get in, when I entered being as quiet as I could, I saw Kotori asleep shivering slightly, I walked up to her and pulled the covers over her and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Ven." Kotori says with a smile in her sleep.

I let out a silent laugh and sat down on the bed beside her and softly ran my fingers through her hair,

"Sorry Kotori." I say softly while stroking her hair as she lets out a sigh and nuzzles into my lap, "But I gotta go away for a little while, I wasn't as strong as I thought and I let my pride blind me." I tell the sleeping Kotori.

"You were strong enough for me." Kotori mumbles in her sleep.

I let out a soft chuckle, "I won't ask you to forgive me for leaving suddenly, but know that I will be back and I will be thinking of you every night." I say as I lean down and peck her lips.

Kotori lets out a soft smile.

"I'll be gone for six months before I return, when the WDC starts." I say as I gently lift Kotori on my lap and put her head on her pillow and gently fix up her covers, "See you soon my little bird." I say before standing up and going over to the desk and picking up my deck case of Numbers, I notice Dark Rebellion and pick it up and look at it for a moment before setting it back down, "My soul, I leave with you." I say softly before I jump out the window cat like.

-Zexal—

When I was a distance away from Kotori's house my deck box glowed slightly and Number 96 came out.

"What were you thinking, challenging the Number Hunter?!" Number 96 says scolding me.

"Sorry Mom." I say in a teasing tone rolling my eyes.

"M-Mom?" Number 96 says falling slightly, "What are you talking about?" he questions.

"You're acting like a doting mother." I tell the Dark Number with a smirk.

"I don't have any of these Human Emotions, I just need a strong duelist to help me obtain the Numbers." Number 96 says with a shrug.

"Whatever makes you happy." I say with a grin as I continue walking.

"So where are we going?" 96 questions after a bit realizing that we seem to be heading away from the city.

"We're leaving for a while." I tell him

"What?" Number 96 questions.

I put my hands in my pockets while walking a cold breeze blows through the air making me shiver slightly, "I realized something after I lost that duel against Kaito, I thought I was untouchable and no one could stop me, Kaito helped bring me back to earth and made me realize I was nowhere near what level I thought I was, so we are going to train for six months." I tell my partner.

"But what about Astral I can't let him out of my sight." Number 96 says.

I look over at the Dark Number, "Sure you can, think about it this way leave him alone for six months and train and before even stronger then you already are, or stay and watch him and keep your strength level, I won't force you to come but know that I am going." I tell the Number not stopping in my stride at all.

Number 96 floats there for a bit before flying to catch up with me, "Your right, Astral won't go anywhere if we leave him for six months, and when we return I'll be stronger then any Number and be able to absorb all their power." He says with a predator grin.

"Glad you see it my way." I tell the Number stopping my ascent up the hill and stopping to look down at Heartland spread over the horizon below me, I clenched my fist, "Everyone even though are paths make take us down separate roads for now, but I know they will intersect again in the future someday, some place but until then…" I pause and take a deep breath and yell loudly at the top of my lungs, "LET'S MEET AGAIN AT THE CARNIVAL!"

-Zexal-

bit of a short chapter this time round, but It wasn't really more then a wrap up and Ven departing to train, I hope you all enjoyed this story and thanks to everyone who reviewed and followed this story from the beginning and sticking with me, your support helped me with writing this story, I will see you all in the next book **Carnival Days**.

on a small side note, I'm thinking of as a small side project during my spare time writing a "Person finds themselves in the world of yugioh." self insert fic, If I did one what series would you like to see, Choices would be,

Gx

5d's

Zexal (would be different from this series)

or Arc V

it would have slow updates since I would mainly be focusing on Fairy Tail and Carnival days but still let me know what you guys think, until next time this has been Shiunin Ventus.


	24. AN: 2 Year Anniversary

Hello everyone, wow I can't belive it's already been almost 2 years since I finished my first ever fic on this site. To be honest I never thought it would have gotten the following it did, and is still getting at times. I'm glad so many of you truely enjoyed my story thanks so much for your support. As a little anniversary celebration of sorts I'm thinking of maybe doing a redux of the story a vast majoriy of the story would remain the same with a few major things and some minor to make the story flow better.

some major changes would be:

I would rewrite all of Ventus' Duels with a new deck of either Predaplant or Fluffal with Starve Venom being his ace. To be completely honest Fusion was always my favorite summon method and I did want to have His ace card be the Fusion dragon but this story came out before Starve Venom's effect was revealed.

The Regnant's symbol would no longer exist, it would be Starve Venom's power instead that lets him take Number Cards

Ventus will no longer be able to see Astral, but he is able to hear and talk to him.

A majority of the duels will stay the same as this time around with two exceptions, one being Number 96 vs Ventus instead of Kotori and the other being a secret.

there would be a few other things as well but if this Idea for a redux interests you guys and enough of you put positive support towards the idea I'll put some serious thought into it, as a little sneak preview for you guys heres the effect of Dark Rebellion Fairy Cheer Dragoon's Starve Venom counterpart.

Gluttony Venom Taunting Spriggan δrakon

Dark/Fiend/Xyz/Effect/Rank 8/3000 Atk/1900 Def

2 Level 8 Monsters

This card cannot be used as an Xyz Material and is always treated as a Number Monster.

The Xyz Summon of this card cannot be Negated.

This card is uneffected by the effects of your opponent's Xyz Monsters and Level 5 or higher Monsters

If this card is Xyz Summoned; Until the End of your Opponent's next turn, neither player can activate Spell or Trap Cards, or Spell or Trap Card Effects. (This effect lasts even if this card leaves the field)

If this card is Xyz Summoned using a Dragon Type Fusion Monter and a Fairy Type Xyz Monster as Xyz Materials it gains the following effect;

During the Turn you Xyz Summoned this card you can detach 2 Xyz Materials from this card: Draw 2 cards and reveal them, then for each Monster drawn increase this card's Atk by the drawn Monster's Original ATK and lower one Monster on your Opponent's side of the field by the Drawn Monster's Original Def, Send the Drawn cards to the Graveyard, these changes last until the end phase. (Effects that would activate when a card is sent to the Grave are negated)

If this card is destroyed by battle or by an Opponent's card effect you can banish a Dragon Type Fusion Monster and a Fairy Type Xyz Monster from your Graveyard: Special Summon this card from the Graveyard, it cannot attack the turn you activate this effect.


	25. AN2: Reboot Changes

So a little while back I had asked you guys if you would be interested in me doing a "Reboot" of Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal: The Emperor's Regnant, and from what I've seen there are a couple people who would be interested, I'm glad people are into the idea, I'll probably wanna get a few more yay or nay sayers on the idea before fully commiting to it.

in the reboot there would be a lot of Major and minor changed from the original fic, here are what most of the changes will be.

Ventus will now be Yori (Pairing will still be Yori x Kotori)

The Amnesia sub-plot will be scrapped completely.

Wind-Up Deck will now be Predaplants with Starving Venom Fusion Dragon as ace Dragon over Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon.

The Regnant's Symbol will no longer exist and Yori is unable to see Astral but he can still hear and talk with him.

Starving Venom Fusion Dragon is Yori's way of Taking Numbers, later on Number 96 Black Mist becomes his method.

Chapter Changes:

Chapter 1-2: will remain the same

Chapter 3-4: Yori vs Ukyo

Chapter 5-6: Yori vs Number Holder

Chapter7-8: Yori vs Number Hunter

Chapter 9: Yuma vs Shark rematch

Chapter 10-11: Yori/Shark vs Number 61 and 19 Holders

Chapter 12- 13: Yori vs Number Hunter Rival

Chapter 14 - 15: Yori vs Black Corn

Chapter 16 - 17: Yori vs Thunder Spark

Chapter 17 - 18: Yori vs Princess Cologne

Chapter 19 - 20: Yori vs Number Hunter Rival R2

Chapter 21: Yori vs Number 96

Chapter 22 - 23: Yori's Past

Chapter 24: Yori's Departure Book end.

some Duels in WDC arc

Yori vs Number 25 Holder

Yori/Yuma vs Droite/Gauche

Yori vs Gauche

Yori vs V

Yori vs Yuma (Canyon Field)

Yori/Number Hunter Rival vs Mr. Heartland.

there's the list of the majority of changed that would happen if enough people say they'd like the idea of a reboot if you have any questions just send me a Pm and I'll do my best to answer them if I can.


	26. Note

Hey Minna just wanted to give everyone an update as to what's been going on, to be blunt my laptop had gone X_X so I haven't had a way to write out full chapters as I don't think I could even attempt to write out a full chapter on my Ipad/phone, but Im hoping to get a new laptop around the middle of April so Ill hopefully be able to continue at the end of the month/the start of May.

I'll be continuing Warrior's Penance and Guardian of the Forrest Maiden along with starting The Emperor's Regnant reboot, and Rebooting the Fairy Tail and Kingdom Hearts fics from the beginning.

The Poll winner for the non card fic was Fairy Tail so look forward to that as well, it will be called Siren's Call, as for the two runner ups High School DxD and RWBY I plan to do a cross over with my FT Oc in those two after Book 1 Ends, which will cover Lullaby Arc to Tenrou Arc, I'm probably not gonna do any filler arcs and I might skip Edolas as it wasn't really one of my favorite arcs but if enough people want it, I'll put Sora the Oc in that arc as well.

See you all with new chapters to all my stories in a few weeks hopefully.


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